New party leadership grabs limelight (3)

FOUNDATIONS OF LEADERSHIP

In 1969, Xi was sent to a remote village in northwest China' s Shaanxi Province, an early CPC base, as a result of the Cultural Revolution. He farmed with peasants there from 1969 to 1975. Xi joined the CPC in that small village in 1974.

Xi later became deputy Party head of Zhengding County, Hebei Province, in 1982. In 1985, as the county's Party head, Xi made his first trip to the U.S., seeking advanced agricultural know-how for the county.

He later served as Party chief of Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province, from 1990-1996.

In recent years, Xi has made broad international contacts.

As Party chief of Shanghai for five months in 2007, Xi met with CEOs from Siemens, Carrefour, Citibank, Standard Chartered, Morgan Stanley, Blackstone Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Xi also met with Muhtar Kent and Robert Iger, CEOs of Coca Cola and Walt Disney, respectively, in the Great Hall of the People after being elected vice president in March 2008.

During his term as vice president, a position he still holds, Xi has traveled to numerous countries, including Italy, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Hungary, Russia, Japan, New Zealand, Vietnam, Angola, South Africa, Mexico, Ireland and the U.S.

In February this year, Xi visited the U.S., emphasizing the importance of China-U.S. relations.

At a luncheon in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 15 this year, Xi said that China-U.S. relations have "experienced ups and downs, but the general trend is moving forward." Xi said, "As a Chinese poet put it, 'green hills can't block it, and after all, it is flowing eastward.'"

While in the U.S., Xi showed his interest in getting to know and understand the country.

He went to Muscatine, Iowa and met with Eleanor and Tom Dvorchak, who had hosted him on their farm during his first visit to the U.S. in 1985.

Dr. Hu Xiaobo, professor of politics with the Center for China Studies at Clemson University in the U.S., said he was "much impressed" by Vice President Xi, after meeting Xi during his visit.

"He seemed a natural leader, with his homework well done and ready to reach out to others at ease. He presented himself as an engaging diplomat, candid and humane," Hu said.

"Xi genuinely understood the realities in China. He could appreciate the dramatic changes over the past 30 years and could engage with people from all walks of life," Hu said.

Xi's experiences have solidified his unbending commitment to work for the people's interests.

"We must always be of the same mind with the people and share the same destiny with them, and we must work together with them and diligently for the public good," Xi said to the press Thursday.

Despite Xi's wide-ranging travels, however, Xi credits his youthful experience in the hills of Shaanxi Province with transforming him into the person he is today

In an autobiographical article published in the anthology, "Old Pictures of Educated Youth," Xi wrote: "My success hails from northern Shaanxi. I came to realize at that time what reality is and I thus gained confidence."

He entitled the article: "I am always a son of the Yellow Earth."

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