In August 1984, the Communist Party leadership conducted an unprecedented experiment in Shaanxi as part of wider economic and political reforms taking place around the country. An expanded session of the provincial party committee was held, during which more than 300 people, mainly officials at the county level or above, were allowed to elect the party chief of Shaanxi by secret ballot. Bai emerged the winner out of a total of 13 candidates, becoming the first provincial party chief to be elected through this experimental democratic process. As a result he was featured in a People's Daily story on November 18, 1984, as part of the party's "bold experimentation with cadre reforms", and also received coverage in international media. In September 1985, he became a member of the 12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. The democratic experiment was short-lived, however. As Bai's patron Hu Yaobang was forced to resign in January 1987, Bai became collateral damage, and was himself forced out of office in September. The party never gave any justification for Bai's ousting. During his three-year tenure in Shaanxi, he was mostly known for spearheading Hu's economic reform activities.
