Finally, China's leaders unveiled

CHINA's ruling Communist Party will this morning unveil the leaders who will guide the country through a difficult development phase over the next five years under the leadership of Xi Jinping.

The party will close its five-yearly congress today - the 18th since Mao Zedong founded modern China in 1949 - amid continuing economic turmoil in the export-based economy and fresh talk of reforms in the world's most populated nation.
The congress will sign off on a new Central Committee of about 200 people and 170 alternates. At a meeting tomorrow known as the first plenum, the Central Committee is expected to confirm Mr Xi as secretary-general, a new Politburo of about 25 people and the elite Politburo Standing Committee - currently nine people - which governs China using a consensus model.
It is widely believed that the Politburo Standing Committee will be trimmed back to its 2002 size of seven people, but beyond Mr Xi and premier-elect Li Keqiang, its make-up - arranged after more than 12 months of backroom dealing - remains secret.

 

The make-up of each group of new senior officials has been reached by balancing the myriad and often overlapping interest groups within the party. These include the reformist right, the statist/conservative left and the stability focused centre. There are also strong powerbases in China's 31 provinces and municipalities and in the industry sectors dominated by state-owned enterprises such as energy, resources, telecommunications and banking.
Forecasts from experts and the Hong Kong media suggest that a group will emerge with strong ties to former party chief and president Jiang Zemin, who has raised his public profile in recent months. The leading contenders for the other positions in the top circle are vice-premiers Wang Qishan and Zhang Dejiang, the party secretaries of Shanghai and Tianjin, Yu Zhengshong and Zhang Gaoli, and Propaganda Department chief Lui Yunshan.
Two prominent reformers, Organisation Department chief Li Yuanchao and Guangdong Party chief Wang Yang, are in the mix but observers suggested they may not win promotion until 2016.