The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee revised its regulations on the selection and appointment of Party and government officials for the first time in five years, a move that experts say is aimed at building a more scientific and flexible system to help the CPC select high-quality officials.

The CPC regulation was first released in 2002. It was revised in 2014 to help implement strict intra-Party and official management.

Compared with the 2014 version, which banned “naked officials,” or officials whose spouse and children have migrated overseas, from being considered for promotion, the new version left space for “some special posts,” according to the latest regulation released on the CPC’s flagship newspaper People’s Daily on Monday.

Zhuang Deshui, deputy director of the Research Center for Government Integrity-Building at Peking University, told the Global Times that the latest revision left space for promoting professionals who returned to China after living and working abroad for many years.

“Some of these people have already acquired a foreign nationality, some of them even married foreign wives,” Zhuang said. He noted that the latest revision would help the CPC retain talent.

Efforts should be made to foster female officials, officials from ethnic minorities and non-CPC member officials, said the latest regulation, while noting that leading officials who are not suitable for their current posts should be adjusted.

Zhuang pointed out that although the three types of officials have been very important parts of the selection and appointment of Party and government officials, there was no specific regulation on their selection and appointment.

The latest revision fills the void, said Zhuang, noting that it will help widen the Party and the country’s horizon in selecting and appointing officials.

Zhuang said the latest regulation shows more respect to the complexity and diversity of official selection and appointment.

The latest regulation also outlined the requirements for officials, accelerated promotion and democratic recommendation procedures, which experts said is aimed at enhancing the role of political development in organizational work as well as in choosing capable officials to promote high-quality economic development.

Officials who had violated political rules or regulations should not be considered for promotion, the regulation said.

Candidates for recommendation should be nominated by a higher Party committee or organizational department, read the regulation.

“Obeying political rules and regulations is the bottom line for Party and government officials,” Zhu Lijia, a professor of public management at the Chinese Academy of Governance in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday.

Su Wei, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, said that the latest regulation is also consistent with the country’s shift from promoting rapid economic development to pursuing high-quality economic development as it stresses officials’ capabilities.

(In association with Global Times)