'Edgar Snow of New Era'

While working in China, Moody's interest in understanding President Xi Jinping and his thoughts grew.

In 2015, when he went to Johannesburg, South Africa, to cover the Second Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, he described Xi as "most charismatic "in his diary after listening to his speech.

He also covered many of Xi's overseas trips, including the state visit to the UK in October 2015 and to South Africa in December the same year.

On Oct 18, 2017, Moody was present in the Great Hall of the People to witness Xi's report to the 19th CPC National Congress, where he announced that socialism with Chinese characteristics had entered "a new era".

Describing the scene, Moody said in a China Daily column that he "had a definite sense of history in the making". He added that "China is moving into a new era in which it is much more confident about its position and status in the world."

Moody had written nearly 100 stories explaining Xi's thoughts since 2017.

In June, Moody said when the newspaper celebrated its 40th anniversary, "As China continues to embark on its new era, set to be one of the most exciting in the nation's history, we at China Daily must continue to rise to the challenge and ensure our China coverage is second to none."

He was a keynote speaker at China Daily's inaugural Vision China series of public talks in January 2018. On the theme "New Era Through My Eyes", he explained to a global audience the significance of Xi's report to the 19th CPC National Congress.

Moody was also a key speaker at the third Vision China event in Johannesburg in July 2018, at which he talked about China-Africa relations and Xi's concept of building "a community with a shared future for mankind".

Su, the editor, remembers helping Moody get "fresh-from-the-oven "English versions of Xi's speeches many times. He participated in a forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2017 that looked at ways China and Africa could work together to tackle poverty along with Moody.

Central to the debate at the forum was Xi's book Up and Out of Poverty, containing speeches and articles written by Xi when he was Party chief of Ningde prefecture, Fujian province, around three decades ago.

"I was surprised that Andrew had read the book and made many comments about it. During the forum he explained to attendees from across Africa China's policies and how Africa and China could work together to tackle poverty," Su said, adding that many Ethiopian scholars had known Moody before that meeting.

Shankar said that during the time Moody spent at China Daily, he noticed a gradual, but clearly perceptible, change in his colleague's understanding of global and Chinese politics.

"A dyed-in-the-wool Tory (Conservative), Andrew saw no contradiction in embracing or endorsing the Party's policies on many issues, often looking at long-term outcomes rather than short-term fixes," Shankar said.

"'Things work here', he would often say, and point to the 'messy democracy' in many countries, including mine, India."

A keen follower of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Moody would regularly declare that "this is, indeed, a new era in China", Shankar said.

In 2019, Moody was honored with China's most coveted award for foreigners, the China Friendship Award, for being "a leader in explaining Xi's thoughts to the world".