With the nation facing rampant corruption and rocketing unemployment as it yields to the pressure of a market economy, the central government is trying hard to show its heart remains with the masses.
Just ask the 10 taxi drivers who sat down for a Spring Festival dinner last Monday with Wuhan city mayor Li Xian. As well as a free meal, they got to offer the mayor some advice and even chastised him on his taxi policies, Wuhan's Changjiang Daily said.
Such encounters are becoming the norm, with government leaders such as new Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao leading the way. Cadres across the country have been lining up to prove they are the people of the workers and peasants.
Since Mr Hu's promotion to party boss in November, stories about officials having heart-to-heart chats with common people have appeared in the state media.
Yesterday, the Communist Party magazine Seeking Truth published an article blasting party officials for losing touch with the masses. Written by Peng Guofu, party secretary of Xiangtan University in Hunan province, the article said cadres had become too interested in 'befriending big shots'.
'The party's biggest political strength is that it organises, educates, and relates to the masses. The party is the friend of the masses,' it said.
This month, Shenzhen mayor Yu Youjun met an author of a critical online essay and promised to broaden channels for Shenzhen residents to express their opinions.