China leader shies from reform

The Chinese President, Hu Jintao, has urged the country's communists to better serve the people, in a speech to mark the 82nd birthday of the Communist Party.

Mr Hu was quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency as calling for the party to "dedicate itself to the interests of the public and govern for the people's benefit".

He was referring to the "three representations" theory, which is an attempt to modernise the party.

There had been a great deal of speculation that Mr Hu's speech would contain some important references to political reform.

But the BBC's Adam Brookes in Beijing says it appeared to be simply a very orthodox attempt to push the "three representations" campaign which was formulated by his predecessor, Jiang Zemin.

Shadowy

There was no sign of Mr Hu, who is establishing his position after Mr Jiang's 13-year leadership, trying to make a big splash, our correspondent told the BBC's East Asia Today programme.

Since coming to power as leader of the Chinese Communist Party last November, Mr Hu has given no public indication of a personal vision for the country.

Nevertheless, there were a few references to the plight of rural workers and to those who have been laid off from China's state-owned enterprises in the speech.

Our correspondent says this is in line with an attempt by the current leadership to appear more caring, demonstrated by the personal appearances Mr Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao made during the outbreak of the Sars virus in China.