Xi Jinping sends a message by following in Deng's footsteps

The past week has shown that the new leadership of the Communist Party of China is serious about its commitment to the people and is determined to push on with reforms, analysts say.

The event that captured the most attention was the first inspection tour - to Guangdong province - by Xi Jinping since the new leaders were elected at the Party's 18th National Congress last month, and after which Xi became general secretary of the Party Central Committee.

Guangdong served as the testing ground for reform and opening up policies after Deng Xiaoping, the late leader of China, initiated sweeping changes in the country in 1978 after it had emerged from the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). Deng's visit to the southern province in 1992 ignited the wave of reform that laid the foundation for the country's development over the following 20 years.

Since then, Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong and Macao, has evolved into a thriving industrial center.

During Xi's five-day tour, he made it clear that the new leadership is determined to deepen reform in many areas and continue to promote innovation.

He felt it was right to honor the history of reform and opening-up where it began, he said.

"Our country's reform has stepped into a crucial and delicate stage, which requires us to have more political courage and wisdom and seize opportunities to enhance reforms in important sectors," Xinhua News Agency quoted him as saying. "We must make sure the reform and opening-up continue to progress in the right direction. We must dare to resolve tough and risky issues."

Li Keqiang, the second-highest ranking official in the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice-premier, also highlighted the importance of reform to the world's second-largest economy.

During a meeting with former US treasury secretary Henry Paulson in Beijing on Dec 6, Li said that to expand domestic demand, harness the benefits of urbanization and develop other initiatives, an increasingly open environment was needed.

"China has benefited from the opening-up. In the future China will become more and more open," the vice-premier said.

In recent years, after three decades of rapid development, China's economic growth has begun to slow. In the first three quarters of this year, GDP grew 7.7 percent, shy of the 8 percent target of recent years. The official target for this year is 7.5 percent.

The CPC Central Committee leadership is going to take over the key government posts early next year and realizes the country faces many challenges. These include an ageing population, environmental pollution, rising labor costs, a widening income gap, and how to stimulate domestic consumption; and there have been calls for more decisive and comprehensive reform to stimulate continued development.

After Deng's tour in 1992, the Party and the government officially adopted the socialist market economy, opening a new chapter in China's reform and opening-up.

The Hong Kong newspaper Takungpao said in an editorial: "Likewise, the trip of Xi, in his predecessor's footsteps, will give reform and opening-up new momentum and bring a new round of groundbreaking changes."

During Xi's tour he paid particular attention to innovation in local manufacturing.

At the Guangdong Industrial Design City, an industrial park in Shunde, he inspected exhibits featuring the latest designs.

"Chinese manufacturing has got to a point where it needs to be upgraded and transformed, and in that process design plays a key role," Han Fengqin, manager of the design city, told Phoenix Television of Hong Kong.

"So Xi coming here sends a strong signal that (the new leadership) attaches great importance to design and innovation."

After Xi, Li and five others took their posts in the new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in November, they have brought fresh air to the Party.

A regulation was passed at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Dec 4, requesting Party officials to improve the way they work and to get closer to people.

All members of the political bureau, which has 25 members, have been urged to understand the society's problems and issues, pay more attention to people's concerns and grievances, reduce spending on inspection tours and unnecessary formalities, and curb the number of meetings.

Officials are also being asked to reduce special traffic control measures laid on when leaders are traveling, and to simplify the reporting of events attended by political bureau members.

In addition, the Party's discipline watchdogs have netted a host of officials suspected of violating Party rules and national laws since the CPC's 18th National Congress ended. The crackdown on corruption and other official misbehavior has been widely welcomed.

"Xi's recent speeches and acts show his, and the whole leadership's, determination to resolve these problems by deepening reform," says Wu Hui, associate professor of Party building at the Party School of CPC Central Committee. "They also make it clear that this must be done without deviating from the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

"Looking at what the new leadership has already done, we can expect that reforms will be intensified not only with the economy, but in political and social fields, too.

"For example, the outdated and detestable way in which some government officials work must be eliminated, and those who have alienated themselves from the people must drop their dogmatism and bureaucracy."

The latest campaign against corruption will be the breakthrough point of the unfolding reforms, Wu says, adding that tackling the unbalanced distribution of income is also a top priority.

"I think a thorough reform of income distribution has been on the agenda of the new leaders, because they must have known that a huge proportion of social conflicts was caused by unfair distribution mechanisms."

Jon Taylor, professor of political science at the University of St Thomas in Houston, Texas, says the new leadership's pledges and acts "reminded me of a quote from Confucius in The Analects: 'The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions'."

Taylor says he has noticed that the CPC's efforts have resulted in "shorter speeches, less rhetoric, a more business-like approach to meetings and official gatherings, less extravagance and spending on official gatherings, (fewer) official tours, and reduced foreign trips".

"Three areas are likely to be pursued by the CPC over the next five years: vigorously prosecuting corruption, which impacts both the Party's credibility and legitimacy, a stronger commitment to economic reform and social stability, and a more dynamic foreign policy."

Rana Mitter, professor of the history and politics of modern China at Oxford University, says he believes Xi and other top policymakers are aware of the public's concerns on a variety of issues: income inequality, the need for new healthcare and pensions policies, and a greater ability to speak freely about important issues.

"If the new leadership are seriously able to overcome bureaucratic hierarchies and talk to people, then they will be able to find new ways to deal with these urgent issues."

Ren Jianming, an anti-corruption and clean-governance expert in Beijing, says: "For a long time reform has focused on the economy; in contrast, political structural reform has been delayed. Political structural reform is more difficult and demands greater resolution and a stronger will.

"In what Xi and the rest of the new leadership are saying and doing, you can see they are open-minded and confident. They are well aware of the challenges and opportunities that face them and the country, and they know their mission."

Zhang Chunyan in London, Zhang Yuwei and Yu Wei in New York, and Chen Jia in San Francisco contributed to this story.

zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/14/2012 page3)