‘Man of the People’

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Beijing， February 25 one of the smoggiest days of the year and President Xi Jinping surprised the nation when he made an unannounced visit to Nanluoguxiang， an historic former residential street-turned-tourist trap lined with kitschy souvenir shops， bars and cafes.

Wearing a navy jacket and pants and， most conspicuously， no anti-pollution facemask， Xi was accompanied by several equally dressed-down municipal officials including Mayor Wang Anshun and the city’s Party chief Guo Jinlong.

While local businesses were allegedly tipped off about the visit days in advance， the unannounced appearance of the president immediately sent tourists into a frenzy， and Xi was pursued by a swarm of smartphone-wielding onlookers for the duration of his visit. Unperturbed， he continued on his way， stopping to talk to local residents， ensuring a good show.

As the images spread rapidly through China’s social media， they triggered lighthearted discussion among both netizens and celebrity bloggers. Pan Shiyi， a real-estate tycoon， for example， asked whether he would be in time for a picture with Xi if he “rushed to the scene.” Zheng Yuanjie， a bestselling author， recommended that the president sample durian a specialty snack currently popular along Nanluoguxiang.

While “everyman” visits to famous sites are a common feature of populist politics in the West， they are very rare for top Chinese leaders. “Public”appearances by Chinese leaders have previously been stagemanaged to a fault， with entire historic sites cleared of all tourists and most staff before being placed on full security lockdown.

The trip to Nanluoguxiang， by contrast， marks the second time in two months that Xi Jinping has shown up “unannounced” in a public place. In December 2013， the president appeared at a branch of Beijing’s popular Qingfeng steamed bun restaurant where he got in line， ordered and paid for a simple lunch costing 21 yuan （US$3.45）. The actual branch Xi visited has since become a tourist attraction， where visitors queue up to order the 21 yuan “Presidential Combo.”

Despite it later emerging that both these “unplanned” visits were actually carefully planned beforehand， the Chinese public as a whole，unaccustomed to even token attempts at outreach by their leadership， seem to have found Xi’s recent walkabouts refreshing.

New Strategy

Analysts point to such photo-ops as symptomatic of a sophisticated public relations strategy adopted by China’s new leadership， most of whom are keen to shed the image of the aloof， privileged bureaucrat. Since assuming power as China’s paramount leader， Xi Jinping has broken with the past in terms of both his media presence and his interactions with the public.

“I’ve kept you waiting for too long，” Xi apologized to reporters in the Great Hall of the people prior to announcing his nomination as Party chief in November 2012. While such a remark might seem innocuous coming from Barack Obama， in China’s protocol-obsessed political realm， such seeming humility from the country’s most powerful man took reporters by surprise.

Almost immediately， commentators began to praise Xi’s “plainspeaking” style， and even his unaccented Mandarin was hailed as a boon when it came to communicating with his public the new president’s predecessors having uniformly failed to shed strong regional accents even when speaking in public.

A month after his inauguration， in December 2012， China’s official Xinhua News Agency published a profile of Xi which not only detailed his experience working in the countryside， but also included family photos including his celebrity wife， former singer Peng Liyuan， and even the president’s daughter. Few Chinese citizens have historically been as shielded from media attention as the country’s First Family， and the appearance of these photographs in the State media caused a stir.

Many have drawn parallels between the careful hon- ing of Xi’s public image and his recent anti-corruption campaign. Warning of the perils of official ostentation in a country with such a pronounced richpoor divide， Xi has personally issued decrees requesting officials to reduce the length of official documents and speeches. He has also put his seal of approval on campaigns to crack down on the pomp and expense that has typically accompanied official events， including red carpets， welcome banners， motorcades and extravagant banquets.

Apparently leading by example， Xi eschewed the presidential limousine in favor of a minibus， and dispensed with the highwayclearing motorcades beloved of his predecessors on a trip to Guangdong Province in December 2012. Even the simple act of holding his own umbrella on an inspection tour in Wuhan in July 2013 made headlines， and while rumors that Xi had casually hopped into a Beijing cab and chatted with the driver in April 2013 were refuted by the official media， there seems to have been no effort by State censors to suppress the story.

Analysts agree that China’s top leadership hopes to change public perception of officials as corrupt， detached and rapacious， instead cultivating an image of frugal self-sacrifice to win back an increasingly sceptical populace. As his anti-corruption crackdown has led to the fall of some 30 ministerial-level officials and undermined China’s vast luxury goods industry， Xi’s star has continued to rise， even earning the politician the nickname “Xi Dada，” or “Uncle Xi.”

Few have seen coincidence in the fact that Xi’s recent public outings came immediately prior to the Two Sessions of the National People’s Congress （NPC） and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference （CPPCC） in Beijing. Issues raised by Xi’s public appearances became hallmark themes of the two conferences.

Xi’s decision to eat the same food as regular Beijingers， rather than carefully-prepared dishes sourced from the government’s private organic farms， was seen as a nod to the importance of food safety in a country still dogged by appalling public health violations.

Similarly， his refusal to don a protective mask even as air pollution soared 40 times above internationally acceptable levels， all were seen as evidence that China’s new president cares about its people. “Breathing together， sharing the same fate，” ran official headlines reporting Xi’s Nanluoguxiang visit.

“With public appearances like this， Xi is trying to bridge the gulf between Party cadres and the public by showing that they care，” Lam Wing Yin， a Sinologist from the University of Melbourne told NewsChina.

It was no coincidence that only days after Xi’s stroll through the choking Beijing smog， Premier Li Keqiang， speaking during the NPC session， pledged that the government would “declare war” on air pollution， announcing various measures including phasing out 50，000 coal-burning furnaces， taking six million vehicles off the roads in 2014 and increasing the use of renewable energy.

Challenges

A notable feature of the leadership’s PR drive is the attempt to harness the power of China’s vast and dynamic social media historically the platform for criticism， not praise， of the country’s rulers. Both the steamed bun story and images of Xi’s Nanluoguxiang jaunt first appeared on Sina Weibo， the country’s leading microblog platform， before being “picked up” by the official media.

An even bigger break with tradition came in February， when ， a media site backed by the Beijing government， published a cartoon entitled “Where has Xi Jinping’s time gone？” featuring a cartoon of the leader and gently making light of his many official engagements since assuming office. One week later， a similar cartoon of Premier Li Keqiang was published by the Xinhua News Agency.

In China， visual depictions of top leaders are typically restricted to a degree comparable with the world’s strictest lèse-majesté laws. All photographs of officials appearing in official media have to be approved by State censors to ensure they are sufficiently dignified and free of subtext， while almost all non-photographic visual representations are effectively banned， with stiff penalties imposed upon artists daring to caricature unpopular cadres.

Although publishers claimed the cartoons were “independently designed，” few doubt that they were drawn up at the behest of the authorities.

Such attempts to harness social media to promote the government， rather than devoting all official energies to censoring criticism， are a new strategy that so far appears to be meeting with limited success.

“[The new PR strategy] is a political necessity， rather than an option，” commented journalist Liang Shichuan on his blog. “Chinese leaders have been transforming their images from ‘political saints’ sixty years ago， to political authoritarians， to ‘retail politicians.’”

However， perceptions of top national leaders are not the only PR offensive needed to shift public opinion. The hope is that local politicians， typically the principal targets of popular dissent and criticism， will follow Xi’s example and moderate their behavior.

There are indications this may already be happening. According to the Beijing News， officials in various localities have conducted 29“shows，” during which they have interacted with the public， since Xi assumed office.

On February 7， Party Chief Qiang Wei of Jiangxi Province ate lunch in the canteen of a local copper mining operation， even chatting with the miners. Then， on February 8 in Nanjing， capital of Jiangsu Province， Mayor Miao Ruilin and several city officials took a bus to their office on a particularly rainy day. On both occasions， officials ensured plenty of local press were in attendance to cover the story.

While these attempts at populism have not gone unnoticed， the public reaction has been distinctly different to that sparked by Xi’s recent public outings. A raft of scathing and sarcastic responses typically follows any publicity stunt arranged by a local official， no matter how well-intentioned. Indeed， top politicians have historically never been the principal targets of public ire， which tends to be overwhelmingly directed towards grassroots cadres， who are almost uniformly perceived as self-interested plutocrats.

Despite this unfavorable bias against local cadres， however， most analysts agree that a PR drive remains essential for the survival of China’s grassroots politicians. “There is now no way to stop officials from getting closer to the people，” read the headline atop the Beijing News’report in local attempts to replicate Xi Jinping’s charm offensive.

According to Shang Huping， a researcher in public administration at Lanzhou University， public cynicism around local politicians’ recent attempts at outreach is the result of these politicians being “shamed”into action by their superiors. Unless their sincerity can be proven， the public are unlikely to soften their views. “It is some kind of progress when Party cadres care about putting on a show， but what people really care about is substance，” Shang told NewsChina.

Indeed， most analysts agree that even “Uncle Xi” will eventually have to reward a receptive populace by delivering on his many promises to the Chinese people. And delivering results will require every cog in China’s vast political machine.