China was introduced on Monday to the two new recruits to the Communist party leadership anointed as the likely leaders of the worlds most populous nation from 2012.
Xi Jinping, a “princeling” from an elite family, and Li Keqiang, the son of a low-ranked rural official, were propelled into the highest echelons of the Communist party after protracted backroom dealing that will shape policy and personnel for a generation.
The duo joins the politburo standing committee, the most powerful body in China, in a reshuffle aimed at consolidating the authority of the party leader and state president, Hu Jintao.
At the 17th party congress, which ended at the weekend, Hu secured his second five-year term as leader and had his concept of “scientific development” written into the party charter.
The president has had difficulty implementing his policies of environmental protection, redistribution of wealth and clean government because power is diffused among provinces and factions.
The reshuffle only partially strengthens his hand. Out went his biggest rival, Vice-President Zeng Qinghong and two other senior cadres who were close to Mr Hu’s predecessor, Jiang Zemin. But the factional bloodlines of both newcomers suggest Mr Hu will still have to make compromises.
Of the four new appointees, only one — Mr Li — is a pure Hu protege. Like the president, Mr Li worked his way to the top by running some of China’s poorest provinces, and exploiting his connections in the Communist Youth League. Mr Li had been tipped as Mr Hu’s most likely successor in 2012, but a rival whose different background underscores the divisions inside this fast-changing society has since eclipsed him.Mr Xi is the son of a party elder, the husband of a famous singer and — until today — the party boss of the commercial capital, Shanghai.
An engineering and law graduate of Tsinghua University, he has a reputation as a talented troubleshooter with close connections to business and foreign investors. He is seen as a compromise candidate because he is close to both Mr Hu and Mr Jiang. At the public unveiling at the Great Hall of the People, Mr Xi was introduced ahead of Mr Li, suggesting he will be the next president, with the latter the next prime minister.
