Shed GDP obsession, return to Marxism: Xi

Officials of ruling Communist Party of China should shed the obsession with GDP numbers to get promotions and return to principles of Marxism, which suffered an ideological meltdown in the course of the country’s economic reforms, president Xi Jinping said on Sunday.

The party should adopt more comprehensive criteria for assessing the performance of its officials other than judging them from GDP numbers, Xi, also general secretary of CPC, told a meeting on the eve of the 92nd founding anniversary of the party which has ruled the country since 1949.

The party should consider a local official’s work in various aspects including people’s livelihood, the development of local society and the quality of environment, Xi said.

‘We should never judge a cadre simply by the GDP,’ he said, expressing annoyance over excessive focus on economic growth numbers by local and provincial officials to highlight the development in their regions.