Pushing for Deeper Reform

　　China’s state leaders have a universal imageof serious faces， jet black hair and dark austere suits.But a recent cartoon video is changing this stereotype.On October 14， a video entitled How a PoliticalLeader Was Tempered became popular. In this fiveminutelong animated cartoon， Chinese President XiJinping， Premier Li Keqiang and five other members ofthe Political Bureau Standing Committee of the 18thCentral Committee of the Communist Party of China(CPC) show up as cartoon characters and illustrate theway they grew from community-level officials to thetop leaders of China.

　　“In the past， the political leaders’ images in themedia were serious and stiff， but this cartoon made apositive change，” said Xie Chuntao， a professor at theParty School of the CPC Central Committee. “It is thefirst time for the Chinese leaders’ cartoon figures tobe spread in mass media.”

　　The cartoon instantly attracted chatter. “It wasreally a surprise for me to see [such an] animatedcartoon. I felt the distance between these leadersand myself disappeared and they are like my amiableneighbors，” said Wu Hao， an Internet user in Beijing.

　　This new phenomenon indicates that the newtop political leaders in China， after taking the helm ofChina’s ruling Party at the 18th CPC National Congressin November 2012， are gradually emerging from thehalls of obscurity， which can help bring them closerto the public， according to Wang Wen， ExecutiveVice President of Chongyang Institute for FinancialStudies of Renmin University of China.

　　Early this year， the state-owned XinhuaNews Agency publicized features revealinginsights into the family life， hobbies and growthpaths of the newly elected seven membersof the CPC top leadership. This is rare inthe Chinese history as for thousands ofyears， the top leaders were all behind awall of mystery.

　　“All these show that the state leaders areshortening their distance with the commonpeople by removing the wall of mystery infront of them，” said Xie.

　　Fighting corruption

　　While making their lives more accessible to the public，the new leadership has also taken the time to show nomercy in fighting corruption. The 18th CPC NationalCongress outcomes include frequent measures to fightcorruption.

　　On several occasions， Xi， who is also general secretaryof the CPC Central Committee， stressed fighting both“tigers” and “flies，” referring to both high-ranking and lowrankingcorrupt officials， in anti-corruption campaigns.

　　Statistics show that from November of last year to Novemberthis year， more than 10 ministerial and provinciallevel officials had been punished for corruption， includingLi Chuncheng， former Deputy Secretary of the CPCSichuan Provincial Committee， and Liu Tienan，former Deputy Chief of National Developmentand Reform Commission.

　　“Compared with the past， the new CPC CentralCommittee adopts new concepts in fighting corruptionas we can see the work focus has beenshifted from prevention to punishment oncorruption，” said Li Yongzhong， a professorof the Chinese Academy of Governance， whohas been studying China’s anti-corruptionefforts for 34 years.

　　In September， the Central Commission forDiscipline Inspection of the CPC launched itsofficial website， where the public can reportcorrupt officials， using their real names oranonymously.

　　“This can pose great pressure on officials to avoid corruption，”said Li.

　　The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection isalso sending teams to different units for regular as well assecret inspections.

　　In late September， the first round of inspections of2013 ended and the second round began in late October.Another 10 inspection teams were sent to various unitsnationwide.

　　“This is a top-to-bottom supervision system， whichshows the strong determination of the new Party leadershipin restraining corruption，” said Ma Huaide， VicePresident of China University of Political Science and Law.

　　Results of the first round of inspections have justifiedthe system’s effectiveness. Wang Suyi， former memberof the Standing Committee of the CPC Inner MongoliaCommittee， and Liao Shaohua， former member of theStanding Committee of CPC Guizhou Provincial Committee，were found corrupt by the inspection teams andwere removed from their posts for further investigation.“After the Third Plenary Session， I believe the rulingparty’s effort in fighting corruption will continue，” said Ma.Foreign policy

　　According to experts， the new leadership not onlystrengthened its efforts on domestic affairs， but alsointensified its diplomacy work.

　　“China has strengthened its relations with developingcountries， especially African countries and this effortwill continue in the future，” Liu Guijin， former SpecialEnvoy of the Chinese Government on African Affairs， toldChinAfrica.

　　From March 24 to 30， soon after Xi became president，he visited Tanzania， South Africa and Republic of theCongo， and had extensive communications with Africanleaders when he attended BRICS summit in Durban. Afterthat， many other senior leaders such as Zhang Dejiang，Member of the PoliticalBureau Standing Committeeof the CPC Central Committee，Wang Yang， Member ofthe Political Bureau of theCPC Central Committee， andLiu Yandong， Member of thePolitical Bureau of the CPCCentral Committee， also paidvisits to African countries.“China and Africa have astrong and creative relationshipbased on a long historicalengagement and morerecently institutionalizedthrough FOCAC (Forum onChina-Africa Cooperation)，”Garth Shelton， a professor ofInternational Relations at theUniversity of the Witwatersrand，South Africa toldChinAfrica. “The relationshipprovides many positive outcomes for both sides and isbecoming increasingly important as a key South-Southprocess in a globalized world.”

　　Peaceful engagement

　　China has been following the Five Principles of PeacefulCoexistence in its diplomatic work since they wereput forward 60 years ago， according to Wang Yusheng，Executive Director of Center for Strategic Studies of ChinaFoundation for International Studies.

　　The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence， proposedby China and developing countries like India in December1953， are： mutual respect for sovereignty and territorialintegrity， mutual non-aggression， non-interference ineach other’s internal affairs， equality and mutual benefit，and peaceful coexistence.

　　“The Five Principles [of Peaceful Coexistence] arewidely respected and supported in Africa. China’sadherence to these principles forms the foundation forcooperation and positive South-South cooperation，” saidShelton. According to him， the five principles provideencouragement to Africa and should be reinforced andstrengthened as the foundation of China’s diplomaticinteraction with Africa.

　　Though critics of the Five Principles of PeacefulCoexistence say non-interference would indulge corruptionin other countries， Shelton thinks this principlejust indicates China regards other countries as friends onequal footing.

　　“Non-interference implies that China is seeking anequal， cooperative and friendly partnership with Africa，”he said. “Based on this policy， the China-Africa relationshipcan be further strengthened and a system of positiveand mutually beneficial cooperation developed.”

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