Vital role

Chen Qingsong, Party chief of Hangping township, Pujiang, said the monthly sessions have helped officials understand that solving people's problems is an important part of their routine work.

"There will always be new problems and issues that concern the villagers as China continues to develop, but we can always find ways to address them so that there is nothing to be afraid of. What matters is that we are there for the people," Chen said.

In Zhejiang, China: A New Vision of Development, Xi states that by reaching out to the public, officials not only help solve people's problems, but also gain insight into social development and obtain the skills needed to push for reform and development. Furthermore, the officials are reminded that they are there to serve the public, so the practice brings a number of benefits.

As the "Pujiang experience" has proven effective in preventing problems at grassroots level from escalating, and helped officials to promptly adjust government policies based on people's needs, the practice has been adopted by governments across Zhejiang and China.

Furthermore, a revision made to the Regulation on Letters and Visits last year states that officials are required to regularly visit people in villages and local communities to solve their problems.

Since 2003, officials at county, city and provincial levels in Zhejiang have met with the people about 700,000 times during their visits and helped solve more than 200,000 problems. The public's satisfaction rate with these visits is about 85 percent, the provincial government said in May.

Wang Yongjun, deputy Party chief of Huangyan district in Taizhou city, Zhejiang, said that sitting in an office and reading case files is never the best way to gain an insight into people's complaints and thoughts. Face-to-face communication is the most efficient way to gain a clear picture of the situation and gain the public's trust.

"As long as people's arguments are reasonable, we will try our best to work out a solution that is favorable to them. If their requests are unreasonable, we will explain to them in detail why such requests will be denied. If we find that illegal actions are involved, we will crack down on them in accordance with the law," Wang said.