Xi follows father's footsteps in serving the people

Xi Zhongxun's lifelong devotion to improving the people's wellbeing had an early imprint on Xi Jinping during the latter's formative years and has influenced the younger Xi's leadership style as general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

Xi Jinping was born into a revolutionary family and his father was deemed a leader coming from the people.

The father once told his son, "No matter what your job title is, serve the people diligently, consider the interests of the people with all your heart, maintain close ties with the people, and always stay approachable to the people."

Xi Zhongxun, who joined the CPC as a teenager, always stood firmly on the side of the people, knowing that no matter how the times would change, he should shoulder his responsibility of seeking a better life for the people.

He would instill in his young children an appreciation for the people's needs, telling them to offer others timely help, while also urging them to remain down to earth and stay connected to people at the grassroots level.

For Xi Jinping and his siblings, their way of treating people has therefore been deeply shaped by their father's dedication to helping others in their hours of need.

Back in the late 1980s, Xi Zhongxun took up the post of honorary principal at a vocational school in northwest China's Gansu Province. For the following 14 years, he stayed on the job, making contributions to the development of the school by helping nurture future generations of talent for the country.

At the time, Xi Jinping was working in east China's Fujian Province. He once spearheaded efforts to fund the school and has cared about its development to this day, carrying on fulfilling the same duty as his father did.

When China began the reform and opening-up in 1978, Xi Zhongxun, who was in his 60s, served as the Party chief of Guangdong Province in south China.

Faced with a province that had long lagged behind other regions in the country in developing its agriculture and industries, Xi Zhongxun felt the urgent mission on his shoulder to transform Guangdong and deliver better livelihoods to the people.

To get started, Xi Zhongxun worked round the clock. During one summer, he visited 23 counties in the scorching heat to familiarize himself with the local conditions.

After extensive research, Xi Zhongxun submitted a report to the central authorities, calling for giving greater autonomy to Guangdong so that it could take the first steps in the opening-up drive. He underscored the need to establish a special economic zone in the province in order to break new ground in national development.

Today, Xi Zhongxun is often remembered firstly as the key figure who helped build the communist base in northwest China that furthered the evolutionary cause of the CPC, and secondly as the one who played a crucial role in the establishment of the special economic zone in Guangdong that paved the way for the takeoff of China's economy.

These two major historic missions undertaken by Xi Zhongxun were both people-centric, as the former was aimed at achieving liberation and freedom for the people, while the latter at realizing a happy life for the people.

As Xi Zhongxun had already lived by example, Xi Jinping followed suit by putting the interests of the people front and center, trying to live up to his father's expectations.

While in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Xi Jinping longed to help improve the people's living standards. When working in Zhengding County, north China's Hebei Province, he would brave all risks to rid the county of poverty. And after his political career took him to Fujian and Shanghai, he made it his responsibility to solve the problems for the people.

In 2012, Xi Jinping made a solemn promise that the CPC's goal is to meet the people's aspiration for a better life, the same goal that his father had devoted his life pursuing.

During an inspection tour in Shaanxi in September 2021, Xi Jinping visited the place where his father worked in Suide County. Displayed prominently there was a line of words from Xi Zhongxun which, albeit plain, captured the essence of lifelong service to the people: "Sit upright on the side of the people."