ON JANUARY 2nd front pages of many Chinese newspapers carried identical headlines. “Greater political courage”, they proclaimed, was needed in the execution of reforms. But even as they try to signal their openness to change, China’s new leaders are nervous of demands that they move faster to loosen the Communist Party’s grip. Most worryingly for them, some of the boldest calls are coming from within the establishment.

Since the leaders, headed by Xi Jinping, were installed in November the party’s propaganda machinery has been working hard to make them look reformist and open-minded. Newspapers trumpeted Mr Xi’s decision to visit the reformist mecca of Shenzhen in early December on his first out-of-town tour. Later in the month the state news-agency, Xinhua, published profiles of Mr Xi and the party’s six other most powerful men. With the articles were rare photographs, including some (above) from years past of Mr Xi with his wife, Peng Liyuan, a well known folk-singer, his daughter, who now attends Harvard, and his father, who has since died.

Read Here – The Economist