It came as no surprise to the outside world when on November 15 the long-speculated lineup of the new leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was announced. Xi Jinping, newly-elected General Secretary of the Party, and his colleagues made their debut before the press, one day after the conclusion of the 18th CPC National Congress.

In an unprecedented move and a break from past tradition, Xi was also appointed chairman of the Central Military Commission of the CPC, replacing Hu Jintao who took over the post two years after he was elected the Party chief 10 years ago.

It is with great interest that people both in and outside China are keeping a close eye on the first steps of the new leadership.

“The people’s desire for a better life is what we shall fight for,” Xi pledged, on behalf of the new Party central leadership, in his election speech. He told a global audience that it “is our mission” to meet the desire of the Chinese people for “their children to grow up well and have better jobs and more fulfilling lives.” Xi’s words also offered an assurance to those Chinese people who have been frequently asked by media recently about what their expectations are for a happy life and moderately prosperous society.

Serving the people is the founding purpose of the CPC, which is now the world’s largest political party with more than 80 million members and has been the ruling party in China for 63 years, one of the longest in office worldwide. Since 1949, especially during the past three decades, under the leadership of the CPC China has made extraordinary progress, rising to become the world’s second largest economy by GDP. However, Xi is clearly aware of the challenges the CPC faces. Among the many severe ones needing resolution, he prioritized corruption, disconnect with the people, formalism and bureaucracy.

At the very first group study of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee on November 17, Xi compared graft to “worms breeding in decaying matter.” He attributed corruption as a major factor in recent cases where long-accumulated social problems lead to intensified public resentment, social unrest and ultimately to power collapse in some countries. Corruption within the Party has done much damage to the image of the CPC, not only nationwide but also worldwide, and has been listed as a potential fatal threat to the Party as well as the nation by both Xi and his predecessor Hu Jintao. Xi called on all Party members to remain alert to corruption while pressing ahead with China’s development along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Just as serving the people remains the unswerving principle of the CPC, followed by all generations of its central leadership, in its domestic policy, “remaining a reliable friend and sincere partner of other developing countries” will be the Party’s consistent foreign policy.

As Africa has the most number of developing countries in the world, it can expect China’s continuing efforts in promoting mutually beneficial bilateral relations with the continent, as promised by Xi during his meetings with his counterparts during the summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing earlier this year.

The Editor