BEIJING, November 6. /TASS/. A state official should never stop self-improvement, demonstrate model behavior and perform his or her office duties diligently, China’s Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang said in an interview with TASS First Director General Mikhail Gusman when asked what he thinks are the most essential qualities for a state servant.
"I would like to share the following wisdom. First, state officials should give priority to self-improvement: Always seek to improve yourself to be respectful. Always seek to improve yourself to give composure to others. Always seek to improve yourself to bring tranquility to the people," he said when asked which of ancient wisdoms helps him in his job.
He cited Confucius’ ideas about the ideal ruler who embodies virtue which is expressed in his unfailingly benevolent treatment of people, who, in turn, voluntarily opt to follow him. If his own behavior is correct, his example will influence the behavior of his people as a model.
Apart from that, the Chinese premier noted that a government official should "perform his office duties diligently," "have an ideal and moral qualities," and think about the country rather than about himself.
"These are useful ethical and political thoughts in the Chinese traditional culture" can serve as a major "source of ideas for present-day rulers," he said.
Li Keqiang is paying an official visit to Russia at the invitation of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The two prime ministers will have talks on November 7 in Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg. Talks will begin in a narrow format to be further joined by the delegations. The Russian side will be represented by deputy prime ministers, a number of ministers, and representatives of big businesses, including CEOs of Russian Railways Co. (RZD), Rosneft oil major, Gazprom gas giant, and state nuclear corporation Rosatom.
The talks are expected to yield a number of joint documents. The two prime ministers will give a news conference after the talks. Apart from that, Medvedev and Li Keqiang will take part in the ceremony of summing up the results of the joint project Ten Masterpieces of Chinese Literature in Russia and Ten Masterpieces of Russian Literature in China. The project was initiated by Russia’s news agency TASS and China’s newspaper Guangming Ribao as part of the Year of the Russian and Chinese Mass Media (2016-2017).
The previous meeting between Medvedev and Li Keqiang took place at the East Asia Summit in Laos on September 8.