Pei Chunliang (right), secretary of the Party Branch of Peizhai Village, visits a local household. In 2005, Pei returned to his hometown to lead its efforts to shake off poverty. His work has won widespread recognition from the villagers. [Photo by Qin Bin/China Pictorial]

From mud-brick homes to apartment buildings, from drinking water from wells or cistern to tap water, Peizhai Village of Huixian City in central China's Henan Province has transformed in just a few years from an impoverished village to one which other villages often look up to. The success can be attributed to a number of factors, and one is that the village is led by a competent official, Pei Chunliang.

Pei, born and raised in the village, was a self-made successful rural entrepreneur, when in 2005, he was voted by his fellow villagers to be the village chief. In the following years, he led the village to build a new village site (which was funded out of his own pocket) and set up a business group that runs multiple industries such as cement, tourism, electricity and chemicals. The village built reservoirs, vegetable bases and flower bases and prospered under his leadership.

Pei is one of the 35 million rural CPC members in China. They have led their fellow CPC members to help lift tens of millions of rural Chinese out of poverty in the past few decades, a miracle that the world marvels at.

These CPC members have strong faith. They are convinced that no matter how time changes, they must commit themselves to the cause of helping the public live better lives.

They are ready to give rather than take. After funding the new village site project with 30 million yuan, Pei gave each household 10 tons of cement in 2010 to help them build new homes.

They are competent at what they do. Rural CPC officials are capable of energizing peasants to engage in land trade and to improve their traditional way of making ends meet.

These CPC officials also have great integrity and virtue. They have high morals in their work and life, which set a great example for the ordinary people.

Outstanding CPC officials like Pei are not isolated cases: It has to do with the Party's way of selecting and training its members.

The CPC selects capable officials, regardless of their age and background. In the rural area, the village chief can play a vital role in the development of the entire village. In recent years, China's rural area selects local officials from people from all walks of life, including rural entrepreneurs like Pei, veterans, retired officials and college graduates. As long as they abide by Party discipline and are capable they can be promoted.

Rural Party officials are well trained. At least once every year, rural officials will attend training provided by the county, city or the province. They learn about Party discipline, the ways of helping villagers get rich, as well as rule-based management. Apart from attending training sessions, they can also learn via the internet in some regions.

The CPC also invests in monitoring the activities of officials and energizes them in various ways, so that the officials will not abuse their power or remain inactive.

With more than 88 million CPC members and 4.4 million Party units across the country, the CPC will continue to lead its people to live better lives and hence contribute to the world.

The author is the chief editor of the Party Building Books Publishing House under the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.