Jiao served as the Party secretary of my hometown Lankao county in Kaifeng, Henan province, for 20 months before his untimely death from liver cancer in May 1964 at the age of 42, but still lives in people's hearts. Twice he worked in neighboring Weishi county where I am. He mingled with villagers, visited townships and disaster-stricken areas, talked with hundreds of experts, farmers and officials, hammered out measures to overcome waterlogging, saline-alkali soil and sandstorms that had been plaguing the area for decades to achieve good harvests.

Xi summed up the Jiao Yulu spirit in detail because he has visited Lankao thrice - twice in 2014 alone. During his tour to Weishi in May 2014, Xi inspected the wheat fields and prioritized the need for local leaders to learn from Jiao and "strengthen the body and soul in order to strike iron", meaning to strictly follow Party discipline and attend to the needs of the people.

County chiefs used to be known as "parent-like officials" in the past since they were each in charge of key supplies to daily livelihoods, such as "wood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea" as tradition goes, for hundreds of thousands of people. The era of Chairman Mao Zedong taught officials to always remember they were fed and clothed by the people.

Today Xi has highlighted the fact that the Party's power comes from the people. By keeping the Party at heart, officials embrace its mission; by keeping the people at heart, officials are reminded to safeguard the source of their power; and self-admonition helps officials establish clean governance and win people's trust.

Moreover, Xi wants county-level Party chiefs to fulfill their mission of leading their areas to further progress with passion and creativity. Both Jiao and Xi managed to bring changes to the counties they served.

As a key link in implementing the current leadership's reform agenda, county leaders mobilized by Xi will motivate other local officials to improve the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people under their leadership in times of the "new normal" for economic and social development.

Just as Xi said at the study program: "How can one cadre grow without some hardship of being like an ant on a hot pan?"

The author is Party secretary of Weishi county, Henan province in Central China.