Beijing - China's ruling Communist Party
announced a new Central Committee, the largest of its elite
ruling bodies, at the closing session of the 19th Communist
Party Congress on Tuesday, a course-setting leadership reshuffle
held every five years.
The list provides clues to who will, or won't, fill top
party positions during President Xi Jinping's second term. The
party will announce its new Politburo Standing Committee around
midday on Wednesday. The Standing Committee, which
now includes seven members headed by Xi and is the apex of power
in China, is selected by the new Central Committee.
Here are noteworthy names:
* Wang Qishan, 69, the anti-corruption tsar and current
Standing Committee member, is not on the new Central Committee,
ending months of speculation whether he would remain for another
term and break an unofficial retirement rule of not taking a new
position after age 68.
Wang may still get a leadership role outside the Standing
Committee, sources told Reuters before the congress.
* Zhao Leji, 60, head of the party's Organization
Department, which oversees personnel decisions, made both the
Central Committee and the Central Commission for Discipline
Inspection Committee lists, suggesting he may take over Wang
Qishan's role as top graft-buster.
* Vice President Li Yuanchao, who is on the cusp of
retirement at the age of 67, is expected to retire from the
25-member Politburo after he was not included on the 204-member
Central Committee.
* China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, 67, could keep his
state councilor job or be further promoted to parliament or its
advisory body after he made it back to the Central Committee.
If Yang retires, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, 64 this month,
and Song Tao, 62, minister of the party's International Liaison
Department, are the top contenders for Yang's job. Both Wang and
Song are Central Committee members.
* Veteran diplomat Liu Jieyi, 59, China's permanent
representative to the United Nations, was elected to the Central
Committee and is expected to take over as minister of the Taiwan
Affairs Office, replacing Zhang Zhijun, who is retiring.
* Transport Minister Li Xiaopeng, 58, the oldest son of
former premier Li Peng, became a full member of the Central
Committee. He was the lowest vote-getter among alternate members
of the Central Committee five years ago.
* Ten women made it onto the committee, 4.9 percent of the
total, basically the same proportion as the previous Central
Committee. There were also 16 delegates from ethnic minorities,
three of whom are women.
* China's top banking regulator Guo Shuqing, veteran banker
Jiang Chaoliang and securities regulator Liu Shiyu, the three
front runners to succeed Zhou Xiaochuan as central bank
governor, were all voted onto the Central Committee.