President Xi Jinping's surprise visit to a fast food joint, the Qing-Feng Steamed Dumpling Shop, in Beijing on Saturday has caused a sensation on the Internet. This move signals the President's aim to get in touch with the masses. China needs such a move and the Chinese people welcome such a move.

Xi's visit to have lunch in the eatery is surprising. The staff from the Qing-Feng shop said they had not been informed beforehand.

The mainstream State media did not participate in the spreading of this news. It was witnesses who took photos of Xi and posted them on social network.

This strikes a clear difference from the previous visits by officials at various levels in which everything is well arranged and the mainstream media are asked to report.

That the daily lives of Chinese top leaders are spread and commented by ordinary people is an expected approach to boost the interaction between officials and the public.

Sometimes, such news is not that accurate. For example, the news that Xi had taken a taxi was once circulated online, although it was proved to be false.

However, we could feel the passion on the Internet toward the news that Xi had lunch at an ordinary diner. Most Chinese felt glad.

What's most important for a top leader is not that he gets close to ordinary people personally, but making policies favorable to the whole of the public and seeking interests for the public.

So far, the new Chinese leadership has received a positive response from the public as they have been sparing no efforts in anti-corruption campaign and other reforms.

Yet a leader's "man of the people" style is still important, which is demanded by the public.

That's why the rumor of Xi taking a taxi and the news of his lunch at an ordinary restaurant could go viral online. People then will wonder if the style of the Party is really changing.

After all, Xi's lunch is not a big issue. Public speculation stems from their expectation toward the leadership. This expectation can only be realized by the efforts of the Party and the government.

The mass line campaign initiated by the Party has borne concrete results and will remind people of Xi's visit to the diner even years later.

Major achievements start from insignificant moves. A small matter can be a turning point of Chinese society's impression toward the Party and its governance.

We are looking forward to this turning point and that the leadership and all officials are working to achieve this goal.

The article is an editorial published in the Chinese edition of the Global Times on Monday. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn