Party leaders of the future will be better equipped to face the media, well versed in international affairs and more efficient managers, thanks to an enhanced training program, a senior official said yesterday.

The program is part of the Communist Party of China's three-year focus on "governance capability and global vision" of its promising leaders, said Li Peiyuan, director of the bureau of senior officials training of the CPC's Organization Department.

Officials in some schools are getting considerable "public relations training" to be more media savvy.

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Cadres will be trained in psychology, too, to help them better cope with stress. The course includes 300 questions to assess their character and personality.

According to the 2006-10 National Cadre Education and Training Plan released earlier this year, the country wants to train 500 provincial-level, 8,800 department-level and about 100,000 county-level officials every year.

"But we will ensure quality is not undermined by the number of people in the program," Li said. "It is crucial for decision-makers of tomorrow to learn how to be good leaders in (the age of) globalization."

Li's department, one of the most important CPC bodies involved in selection and appointment of cadres, oversees the running of six CPC national schools.

The Party School of the Central Committee and the China National School of Administration focus mostly on theory and ideology.

Business and leadership skills are taught at the newly set up school in Dalian in Liaoning Province.

Three schools were started in Shanghai, Jinggangshan in Jiangxi Province and Yan'an in Shaanxi Province in 2005 to impart management training to officials, and nearly 30,000 officials have graduated from there.

(China Daily 07/17/2007 page1)