Xi Jinping seeks changes in way party cadres are selected

A slew of high-profile scandals involving senior Communist Party officials in recent months prompted President Xi Jinping to call for a fundamental overhaul of the appointment and promotion regime for cadres during a recent national conference on the promotion of meritocracy.

Xi, who took over as the Communist Party's general secretary seven months ago, criticised an obsession with economic growth as being a major factor in the performance appraisal of party cadres and government officials.

He proposed that officials' performance be assessed in accordance with how much they contribute to the improvement of people's livelihoods and the ecosystem, and overall social development.

As well as the need to cultivate a strong sense of morality and party allegiance among cadres, Xi stressed that it was necessary to tighten oversight of the party's 85 million members via a scientific selection process.

However, he dismissed using a ballot system for such a process, favouring transparency via "democratic recommendation and appraisals".

Hu Wei, dean of Shanghai Jiao Tong University's School of International and Public Affairs, said Xi's calls for an overhaul of the personnel-selection regime underscored a concern within the central leadership over official corruption, which undermines the Communist Party's legitimacy as the ruling party.

"The core task is about how the top leaders are going to hold the party together in order to maintain its rule," Hu said.