Opinion | Reins on Shanghai set to be loosened
The commercial capital is expected to be given more freedom to pursue rapid growth and become a global financial and shipping centre
Shanghai officials must have got Xi Jinping's drift when the Communist Party chief encouraged the mainland's most developed metropolis to act as a pacesetter in deepening reform.
Addressing a National People's Congress delegation from Shanghai on Tuesday, the president-in-waiting urged the commercial capital to get back on its feet and engineer bold liberalisation for future development.
It was more than lip service and underscores a profound shift in Beijing's attitude towards Shanghai.
Xi, unlike his predecessor Hu Jintao , spent time in the city's bureaucracy during his climb up the political ladder, with a brief stint as Shanghai party secretary in 2007.
Shanghai government officials said he got along well with his subordinates, including then mayor Han Zheng , following a pension fund scandal that caused the downfall of former Shanghai party boss Chen Liangyu .
Xi also has no reason to feel uncomfortable about the term "Shanghai gang" because he owes his own rise to the top echelon of power through support from former president Jiang Zemin and former vice-president Zeng Qinghong - both members of it.