Promising young politicians are to be fast-tracked through the ranks of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in an effort to inject more fresh blood into the system, it was reported yesterday.

Vice-president Xi Jinping said a selection process should be developed to favor those who have excelled early in their career at grassroots level.

The move is expected to make preparation for a new round of officials' reshuffle nationwide in 2 or 3 years time, according to the People's Daily.

A strong faith in socialism and morality, as well as abundant experience at a grassroots level, will be the main criteria for fast-tracking an official, Xi also said in a statement during a recent national meeting.

"More training should be given ... to improve young officials' faith in socialism with Chinese characteristics," he said, adding they must also be able to juggle power with personal interests.

"We should encourage more young officials to work at the basic level," he said, "and we should promote more officials from the basic level, especially young ones who can handle complicated situations and solve real problems."

The People's Daily reported that the Party attached great importance to the training and selection of young officials since the 16th Party Congress in 2002, while the work was reinforced after the 17th in 2007.

By the end of that year, around 72 percent of officials in China were under the age of 45 and 88 percent had received a college education. The average age of provincial, city and county officials had also dropped 8.4 years, 6.8 years and 5.4 years respectively between 1978 and 2007.

"The fresh blood has greatly increased the vitality of our team," said Gao Xinmin, a professor at the Party school of the Central Committee of the CPC. But she added young officials must have more grassroots experience to avoid becoming bureaucrats.

Only 12.5 percent of bureau-level officials within the CPC central committee and central government have worked in towns or counties, reported the People's Daily, while a recent survey on its website showed 93.6 percent of 1,960 respondents consider "most young officials lack rich working experience".

More than 40 percent suggest sending more officials to work at the grassroots level nationwide.

Meanwhile, Song Shiming, a professor with the China National School of Administration, warned that age should not be the defining factor when choosing new officials.

"We should avoid the tendency that the selection of officials is rigidly based on their ages," he said.

Gao also added that some officials, although over 50, were still very capable and that "flexibility should be allowed".

(China Daily April 8, 2009)