In December 1991, Xi Jinping and his colleagues discussed the strategic design for the city planning of Fuzhou. [Photo/Xinhua]

In the early 1990s, completing the approval process of setting up a factory in Fuzhou, Fujian province could take several months or even more than a year.

It was when Xi Jinping, then serving as secretary of the Communist Party of China Fuzhou Municipal Committee, started to lead a campaign to cut the red tape.

At a working meeting in February 1991, Xi asked all officials citywide to adopt the new working spirit - "Do it now", emphasizing high efficiency and practical results in work.

Xi also pioneered a mechanism in the same year that enabled all procedures for investment project approval to be completed in a single building.

More than 20 government departments and agencies set up their approval offices in the same building, allowing all the necessary procedures done in one go.

The "Do it now" practice featuring quick responses with a practical attitude to solving problems with top concern for the public significantly improved the Fuzhou's government efficiency and investment environment.

From the "Do it now" to "All done in one building", the idea of serving the people with urgency in mind was upheld by the leadership of the Communist Party of China, from local level to the top, with Xi leading by example.

As reflected in the eight-point decision on improving work conduct, which was introduced by the CPC central leadership in 2012, this approach to work shines through time with a solid promise kept through practice by Xi.