In the spring of 1992, Deng Xiaoping suddenly reappeared in public and embarked on a tour of southern China to restore faith in his reforms and stop the country's slide back into Maoism (on the trip, he criticized the CCP for its "continuing leftism"). The visit was not only Deng's last major public appearance, but also seen as a test for the direction of the new leadership. Deng's renewed push for a market-oriented economy received official sanction at the 14th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party later in the year as a number of younger, reform-minded leaders began their rise to top positions. The congress also affirmed the position of Jiang Zemin, a former Communist Party secretary of Shanghai, as the new General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and "core of CCP leadership", paving the way of Jiang becoming the "Third-generation" leadership figure. Deng and his supporters argued that further reform was necessary to raise China's standard of living. After the visit, the Communist Party Politburo publicly issued an endorsement of Deng's policies of economic openness. Though not completely eschewing political reform, China has consistently placed overwhelming priority on the opening of its economy. Relations with the West also improved by 1993, after Deng reminded the CCP leadership that China did not have the technological or financial resources to confront the US or be a geopolitical player, that capitalism and democracy were currently in the ascendancy, and that there was no choice but to practice a passive foreign policy.
