China Picks New Politboro Young Bloods

Youngest may vie for top spot in 5 years
By Lucas Laursen,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 22, 2007 7:05 AM CDT
China Picks New Politboro Young Bloods
Chinese President Hu Jintao, left, delivers his speech and introduces the new members of the Politburo Standing Committee from left are Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang, Liaoning Party Secretary Li Keqiang, head of Communist Party Ideology Department Li Changchun, Premier Wen Jiabao, National...   (Associated Press)

The Chinese Communist Party named its newest leaders yesterday, including the man favored to succeed current president Hu Jintao, reports the Washington Post. Xi Jinping, 54, is the son of a Chinese guerrilla leader who rose to the top of the Shanghai branch of the Communist Party, making him a "princeling" son of the revolutionary generation. Xi, who has a phD in economics, was ranked highest of four new members; Li Keqiang, 52, is considered another contender for the top spot.

Both Xi and  Li—the youngest of the new Politburo crop—are experienced bureaucrats with a reputation for caution. Their ascension is seen as a signal that the party wants to stay the course set by Hu: cautious economic reforms combined with the party's continuing monopoly on political power. (More China stories.)

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