A sign of openness
This may or may not be coincidence, but Xi Jinping's first meeting with foreigners as general secretary of the Communist Party of China was with foreign experts working in China.
That is a great way to highlight the nation's gratitude to overseas friends who have contributed to its pursuit of prosperity. And an ideal occasion to showcase the desire to befriend the rest of the world.
Those who were invited to sit down with the new CPC chief in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, and compare notes with him, were but a very few of the foreign experts working for this country. The knowledge, technology, management expertise and new thinking they brought to China are crucial for the country's modernization drive. Their observations of Chinese reality can serve as precious food for thought.