A miniature artist in Taiwan has completed a portrait of the new Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping which sits a grain of rice on Thursday (January 17).

The portrait, carved on a rice grain measuring 0.5 cm (0.2 inch) long and 0.3 cm (0.1 inch) wide, is the artwork of Chen Forng-shean.

The picture of a smiling and waving Xi is next to 24 Chinese characters reading "Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping said: serve the people wholeheartedly."

Chen said creating portraits of political figures is a way of recording history.

"There are 1.3 to 1.4 billion people in China, the new leader gets a lot of attention from the world, especially the Chinese world. As an artist I want to keep a record of this significant event," he said.

The portrait, which took 30 days to complete, is a new addition to Chen's other miniature rice carvings of political figures, including former Chinese Communist Party Chiefs Mao Zedong and Hu Jintao.