Officials will be evaluated on more than just their financial performance, a Party spokesperson said yesterday.

In a bid to update its economic-orientated focus when reviewing the work of officials, environmental and social development efforts will also be measured, said Li Zhongjie, deputy director of the Party History Research Office under the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

"Apart from economic development, the evaluation will focus on various aspects of officials' performance, such as their achievements on environmental protection and on coordinating the development of the economy and society," Li said.

Officials' contribution to maintaining social stability and to improving people's livelihoods will also be looked at, he said.

Top officials called for the changes at Monday's meeting of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, which was presided over by Hu Jintao, general-secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

Details of the updated system will be released soon.

For some time, and especially since the reforms and opening-up in the late 1970s, officials' contribution to economic development - and to the GDP growth rate in particular - was the main yardstick by which they were evaluated, said Wang Yukai, a professor with China National School of Administration, in an interview with Shanghai-based newspaper China Business News yesterday.

"Officials' promotion was closely linked to GDP growth under the old appraisal pattern, which led to vanity projects, drained resources and damaged the environment," he said.

(China Daily July 1, 2009)