Xi Jinping: Man of the People,Statesman of Vision

It was a pleasant early December morning in a verdant parkin Shenzhen， in South Chinas Guangdong Province. Early risers， carrying on their usual morning exercise， did not expect to see a big name.

The park was not cordoned. There was no red carpet nor were there people waving welcoming banners. A middle-aged man in a dark suit， and a tieless white shirt， laid a wreath at the parks statue of the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. Then he walked into the surrounding crowd and began a casual chat.

The visitor was Xi Jinping， the newly elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee.

Man of the People

Xi has expressed his deep feelings for the people on many occasions， saying for example， “How important the people are in the minds of an official will determine how important officials are in the minds of the people.” His love of the people stems from his unique upbringing.

A son of Xi Zhongxun， a Communist revolutionary and former vice premier， Xi Jinping did not live in comfort as a boy.

Beginning in 1962， when his father was wronged and fell in disgrace， Xi experienced tough times. During the “cultural revolution” （1966-1976）， he suffered public humiliation and hunger， experienced homelessness and was even held in custody once.

At the age of 16， he volunteered to live in a small village in northwestern Chinas Shaanxi Province as an “educated youth.”

Life there was tough for an urban youth. In the beginning， fleas troubled him so badly he could not even fall asleep. In the Shaanxi countryside， he had to do all sorts of harsh labor， such as carrying manure， hauling a coal cart， farming and building water tanks.

As time passed， tough work became easy. Xi became a hardworking capable young man in the villagers eyes. By gaining their trust， he was elected village Party chief.

He led the farmers to reinforce the river bank in a bid to prevent erosion， organized a small cooperative of blacksmiths in the village， and built a methane tank， the first in landlocked Shaanxi.

He was once awarded a motorized tricycle after being named a “model educated youth.” However， he exchanged the tricycle fora walking tractor， a flour milling machine and farm tools to benefit the villagers.

Although he was not in school， Xi never stopped reading. He brought a case of books to the village and was always “reading books as thick as bricks，” recall villagers of Liangjiahe.

He formed close ties with the villagers during his seven years in the province. After he was recommended for enrollment at Tsinghua University in 1975， all the villagers queued to bid him farewell and a dozen young men walked more than 30 kilometers to take him to the county seat for his trip back to Beijing.

Xi has never forgotten the folks in the Shaanxi village. Even after he left， he helped the village get access to power， build a bridge and renovate a primary school. When he was Party chief of Fuzhou City， he returned to the village， going door by door to visit people. He gave senior villagers pocket money， and schoolchildren new schoolbags， school supplies and alarm clocks. When a farmer friend got sick， Xi， then a senior provincial official of Fujian， paid for him to go to Fujian for better medical treatment.

Years of toiling alongside villagers allowed him to get to know the countryside and farmers well. Xi has said that the two groups of people who have given him the greatest help in his life are the older revolutionary generation and the folks in the Shaanxi village where he lived.

In Ningde， he sometimes traveled for days on the mountain roads to reach the furthest corner of the prefecture. The roads were so bumpy that he often had to take a break to recover from back pain before arriving at destinations.

He also helped thousands of farmers in Ningde renovate dilapidated thatched huts and guided fishermen to live better lives on the land.

While working in East Chinas Zhejiang Province， he went down into a coal mine nearly 1，000 meters underground and walked more than 1，500 meters along a narrow and inclined shaft to visit miners and see their working conditions before the SpringFestival in 2005.

Xi attaches importance to communication with the people via news media. He wrote a popular column for the Zhejiang Daily， using the pen name Zhexin. In his 232 columns， he discussed everyday problems of interest to the common people.

His work style earned him the nickname “secretary of the people.” “Officials should love the people in the way they love their parents， work for their benefit and lead them to prosperity，” Xi said.

Leader with Foresight

On several recent occasions， Xi showed a strong sense of responsibility towards the future of the nation and declared his determination to push forward reform and opening up.

Throughout his political career， people have seen his foresight and resolve as well as his willingness to sacrifice personal gain and one-time fame for a bigger cause.

When working in Xiamen， a coastal city in Fujian， he took charge of drafting a development plan for the city from 1985 to 2000 and lobbied for preferential policies from the central government， both of which benefited the city long after he left the province.

In Fuzhou， after intense deliberation and discussion， he and his colleagues devised a strategic development plan for the city for the coming three， eight and 20 years. All the main targets set by the plan were achieved years ago， and a number of enterprises that were set up or brought to Fuzhou when Xi served there remain the industry leaders， playing a significant role in the citys development over the past two decades.

Working as Fujian governor， he was the first in the country to launch a campaign to crack down on food contamination.

In 1999， he first put forward the idea of improving IT infrastructure and introducing information technology to help the pub- lic. Fujian had been the only province in China where all hospitals were linked by computer networks and shared digital medical records by 2010.

In 2002， Fujian launched the reform of the collective forest property right system， becoming the first in the country.

During Xis tenure， Fujian was among the first provinces in China to adopt special policies to restore ecological balance and protect the environment. This has made Fujian the province with the best water and air quality as well as the best ecology and environment in the country.

After his transfer to Zhejiang Province in 2002， Xi put forward numerous development targets for the economy， public security， culture， the environment and the rule of law.

He initiated local industrial restructuring， transforming the provinces extensive， less-efficient growth pattern， and encouraged quality enterprises from outside the province to invest in Zhejiang.

In addition， he proposed a development mode that would give equal weight to both manufacturing and commerce， a mode based on Zhejiangs own conditions. He also enhanced enterprises efforts to expand overseas and supported start-ups by ordinary citizens.

At the same time， he encouraged more cooperation among Zhejiang， neighboring Shanghai Municipality and Jiangsu Province in order to tap their potential as an integrated economic powerhouse.

In 2004， under Xis leadership， Zhejiang made an attempt to improve grassroots democracy. Villages there set up residentscommittees to supervise the village Party committee and administrative committee on public affairs， a move that received a positive response from the public.

Village supervision committees， which sprang from the Zhejiang model， were later introduced in an amendment to the OrganicLaw of Villagers Committees in 2010 by the National Peoples Congress （NPC） Standing Committee， the top Chinese legislature.

Shanghai was Xis last local post before he was promoted to the central leadership. Despite a relatively short term in the countrys financial hub， he left his mark by promoting the economic integration of the Yangtze River Delta and enhancing Shanghais leading role in the region.

Son of Revolutionary Family， Caring Husband

Xi Jinpings father， Xi Zhongxun， was a Party and state leader. The senior Xi served as chairman of the Shaan-Gan Border Region， a CPC revolutionary base of the 1930s， and was called by Mao Zedong a “leader of the people.”

Xis mother， Qi Xin， nearly 90 years of age， is also a veteran cadre and Party member. As a filial son， Xi takes walks and chats with his mother， holding her hand during the process， after he finds time to dine with her.

The Xi family has a tradition of being strict with children and living a simple life. Xi Zhongxun believed if a senior Party official wanted to discipline others， he should begin first with himself and his family. Xi Jinping and his younger brother used to wear clothes and shoes handed down from their elder sisters. After Xi Jinping became a leading official， his mother called a family meeting to ban the siblings from engaging in business where Xi Jinping worked.

Xi Jinping has carried on his familys tradition and has been strict with family members. Wherever he worked， he told the family members not to do business there or do anything in his name， or else he “would be ruthless.” Whether in Fujian， Zhejiang or Shanghai， he pledged at official meetings that no one was allowed to seek personal benefit using his name and welcomed supervision in this regard.

Xi married Peng Liyuan， a renowned and well-liked soprano and opera singer. Peng is currently shifting her focus from performance to education， aiming to nurture more talented people and produce more masterpieces.

Xi and Peng fell in love at first sight in 1986 and got married the same year. Although they were often separated due to work， they have understood and supported each other and continuously shown concern for each other.

As a member of the Peoples Liberation Army， Peng was often tasked with staging performances in remote areas. These tours sometimes kept her on the road for two to three months at a time. Being concerned about his wife， Xi would phone her before bedtime almost every night， no matter how late it was.

On Chinese Lunar New Years Eve， Peng would often perform in the Spring Festival Gala presented by the China Central Television. Xi would make dumplings while watching the show and would wait for her return to begin cooking the family feast.

In the eyes of Peng， Xi is a good husband and a good father. She always shows care and consideration for him. Peng takes every opportunity to get together with her husband， cooking for him dishes of different styles.

In Pengs eyes， Xi is both different from anybody else and also an average person. He favors home-made cooking in the Shaanxi and Shandong cuisines， and also drinks a bit during parties with friends. He likes swimming， mountaineering， and watching basketball， football and boxing matches. Sometimes he stays up late to watch televised sports games.

The couple has a daughter， Xi Mingze. Mingze in Chinese implies “living an honest life and being a useful person to society，”which is their expectation for her and also a symbol of their familys simple style.（Source： Xinhuanet.com）