Former US ambassador to China Jon Huntsman says the Communist Party leadership's handling of the Bo Xilai scandal suggests growing transparency within the party.
Huntsman (pictured) also said that Vice-President Xi Jinping, heir apparent to party general secretary Hu Jintao , had to find solutions to flaws in China's political system, otherwise problems such as endemic corruption would bring down the ruling party.
Asked by Christiane Amanpour on her CNN International programme about the public vilification of Bo, Huntsman said it was 'a sign of growing transparency within the party, which is a good thing'.
He added: 'I think we need to reflect on the idea that, some years ago, we never would have seen this.
'I think there's always a lot of tussling behind the velvet curtain, so to speak. But it's never seen by the rest of the world.
'This has been very public and very high profile, and I think that's largely due to greater transparency now, in China and within the party.'