The young civil servant Wang Guanbo (left) hands over government-aid money to an impoverished family in Changzhuang village in Hebei Province in December 2017. (Photo: Courtesy of Wang Guanbo)

After Wang Guanbo graduated from university, he got his first job as a civil servant in a county government in Hebei Province in 2016.
The 24-year-old is used to taking the most tedious, difficult and important jobs in his department - including writing a work diary, creating documents assigned by upper level officials and visiting local families who suffer from poverty. He even washes toilets from time to time. Working overtime is common.
Wang told the Global Times, "As the youngest one in my department, leaders give me more opportunities to try and experience many things."
Young civil servants like Wang are likely to have more chances in the future as the Communist Party of China (CPC) is emphasizing the nurture of outstanding young officials.
The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Friday emphasized that the Party aims to have young officials who loyally implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and serve the people with heart and soul.
Analysts say a sufficient supply of young officials is needed in preparation for the upcoming 20th National Congress of the CPC. Many young officials are expected to take leading positions, in order to bring vitality to the Party. 
'Fresh blood'
The CPC has always treasured talented young people, from the era of Mao Zedong to the present era ushered in by Xi Jinping, Su Wei, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Chongqing Committee, told the Global Times.
"Young officials, who have been nurtured after the 18th National Congress of the CPC, which saw an overhaul aiming to improve the Party's work style and to build a clean government, have more advantages."
"The Party organization used to promote officials based on their seniority, which leads to political idleness. The Party's emphasis on promoting young officials would also motivate the older officials to act more effectively in their posts, Su said.
"The fresh blood represented by young officials is urgently needed to build the Party," said Yin Yungong, the head of the School of Journalism and Communication at Hunan Normal University and an expert on the socialist system at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
After President Xi took office, local-level departments have given much more attention to nurturing young Party members, a Hebei Province-based civil servant, surnamed Gao, observed.
"The percentage of young officials in local government departments is higher than in previous years," Gao told the Global Times.
To give young officials more experience, some have been assigned to work in companies.
According to Jinan Daily, the Jinan government in Shandong Province assigned 22 outstanding young officials in 2017 to work in local companies in management posts for a year. "I'm capable of thinking like someone who works in a company," said one of the young officials after his assignment.
'More to see'
The emphasis on identifying, training and selecting outstanding young officials is in preparation for the 20th National Congress of the CPC in 2022, since some older officials might be replaced, Su said.
According to the news site cpcnews.cn, eight of the nine newly-elected members of standing committee of CPC provincial committee were born after 1960.
The youngest one among them is 49-year-old Shi Xiaolin, who is a member of the standing committee of the CPC provincial committee in Jiangxi Province.
"More officials holding important positions born after 1960, after 1970 or even 1980 are likely to be commissioned in important posts," said Yin.
It also fulfills the decision to deepen reform of Party and State institutions that had been adopted during the Third Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, according to Su.
Selecting officials in accordance with seniority and experience means young officials have to wait many years to get promoted, Su explained.