The government of Zhongxiang in Central China's Hubei province has launched a character test for more than 600 Party member officials, People's Daily reported.

The test will "outline officials' character traits and life interests and take advantage of their personality," the paper said. It was co-developed by the Public Performance and Information Research Center at Fudan University.

The test is part of the local official recruitment process and will not affect the total points, as there is no good or bad character traits, said Han Deyan, an official from the organization department of the municipal Party committee. "The point is to make people better know themselves and help with official selection and appointment," he said.

The test is good for personnel appointments as psychological factors have a great effect on human behavior, said Xu Chuqiao, director of the sociology research laboratory at the Hubei Academy of Social Science.

It is almost impossible to determine character traits through one test, said Xiao Deting, a psychology counselor in Wuhan, capital of Hubei.