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Alice Yan

The photographs, taken over 20 years ago, show a farm visit, a factory tour and a dinner with members of an ethnic minority.
Now the pictures of a younger Xi Jinping have been released online, along with the rest of a book of republished essays on poverty by the president, in a move an academic says is designed to cement Xi's authority within the party.
The photographs were taken between 1988 and 1990 during Xi's two-year stint as party boss of Ningde, a city in Fujian that lagged most others in the province.
 
They were originally published in 1992 in a book of more than two dozen essays and lectures called Eradicating Poverty.
The book - whose topics include fighting graft, understanding the masses, the responsibilities of government leaders, as well as agriculture and journalism - was republished in August and is available on the Communist Party mouthpiece's website www.people.com.cn.
 
A Fujian Daily editorial said the new edition was significant because "many of the creative ideas and methods" mentioned in the book had been themes in Xi's speeches over the two years since he took the helm of the Communist Party.
"Studying the book Eradicating Poverty can play an important role in helping us understand party General Secretary Xi Jinping's ideas and strategies in governing the country, and helping us understand his character in using power and his work style," the editorial said.
Chen Huirong, an assistant professor of politics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said the new edition was part of a flood of packaging and publication of Xi's articles and speeches.
"It's aimed at consolidating Xi's position within the party. Actually he is already much more powerful than his predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao when they were fresh party heads," Chen said.
"It is also aimed at promoting Xi's thought among the public and encouraging government officials to adopt his ideas in administering the country."
The thrust of Xi's 2001 doctoral thesis while he was studying in Tsinghua University also found its way into print after the Beijing News daily wrote an article on it in July. The thesis examined the market economy in rural areas.


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Xi Jinping

Old photos and essays published to cement Xi Jinping's power

Young Xi Jinping talks to party veterans. Photo: CPC News

Young Xi Jinping tours a factory in Xiapu county. Photo: CPC News

Young Xi Jinping works on a farm in Ningde. Photo: CPC News

Young Xi Jinping visits Shouning county in July 1989. Photo: CPC News

Young Xi Jinping dines with members of an ethnic minority group. Photo: CPC News

News

China

Publicising president's work in early days seems aimed at promoting his thinking to the public


The photographs, taken over 20 years ago, show a farm visit, a factory tour and a dinner with members of an ethnic minority.


Old photos and essays published to cement Xi Jinping's power

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Publicising president's work in early days seems aimed at promoting his thinking to the public

Publicising president's work in early days seems aimed at promoting his thinking to the public