Xi Jinping
succeeded Hu Jintao as China's leader on Thursday, assuming the top posts in the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the powerful military in a once-a-decade political transition, unbowed by scandals, a slower economy and public demands for reforms.
Xi was formally appointed as CPC general secretary after a meeting of senior Communists that capped a week-long congress, events that underlined the party's determination to remain firmly in power.
Xi also was appointed chairman of the military commission after Hu stepped down, breaking with the recent tradition in which departing party leaders hung on to the military post to exert influence over their successors.
The moves give Xi a freer hand to consolidate his authority as first among equals in the politburo standing committee, the apex of power.
Immediately after the announcements, Xi strode onto a stage in the Great Hall of the People, leading the six other newly appointed committee members, all conservative technocrats dressed in dark suits.
"We shall do everything we can to live up to your trust and fulfil our mission," Xi, 59, said.
THE NEW FACES OF CHINA'S COMMUNIST REGIME
XI JINPING
He is seen as a promarket reformer and a staunch believer in party power. Son of a veteran revolutionary, Xi is said to be backed by former president Jiang Zemin, who remains influential today, and is widely considered a consensus figure in China's factional politics.
Xi spent much of his career in Shanghai and the coastal provinces of Fujian & Zhejiang, all of them economically vibrant
LI KEQIANG
Expected to be the next Premier, Li, is a protege of outgoing President Hu Jintao.
They worked together in the Communist Youth League in 1980s. Li ran two key industrial provinces. As a vicepremier, his portfolio includes health reforms, energy and food safety. Still, questions of inexperience on economy have dogged him as he prepares to take the post of premier, the top economy job in China
|
Standing beside him were Li Keqiang, the presumptive premier and chief economic official; vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang; Shanghai party secretary Yu Zhengsheng; propaganda chief Liu Yunshan; Tianjin party secretary Zhang Gaoli; and vicepremier Wang Qishan, who was named Thursday to head the party's internal watchdog panel.
The ascent of Xi and Li became all but inevitable when they were inducted into the leadership five years ago. They represent a generational change in leading the world's No. 2 economy and newest diplomatic and military power.
It comes as China's investmentcharged economy is slowing, and as a more prosperous public expects improvements in living standards and government.
"There are also many pressing problems within the party that need to be resolved, particularly corruption," Xi said, reiterating a theme of the recent congress.
"We must make every effort to solve these problems. The whole party must stay on full alert." In all, at least four of the new leaders have solid Communist pedigrees, a sign that 63 years after the revolution that brought the party to power, a new class of 'red nobility' is entrenched.
Powerbrokers have placed the party into their loyal hands as it confronts public outrage over a wide rich-poor gap and the corruption and privileges that have enriched the elite.
The new line-up is heavy on conservatives and leaves out reform-minded politicians, suggesting the leadership is unlikely to significantly liberalise the authoritarian government.
Except for Xi and Li, the others are in their 60s and will reach the party's unofficial retirement age by the time of the next congress in five years, likely leading to continued political infighting.
Xi Jinping (R) and Li Keqiang take over as the next President and Premier respectively. 
Special 
