Beidaihe in spotlight as resort's role in politics renewed

The Beidaihe summer resort is still on the political radar despite reports that central government leaders have called off their informal meetings by the seaside for the second year running.

The famed resort has been in the headlines this week as state media reported on a meeting chaired by Vice-President Zeng Qinghong with military scientists from western and northeastern provinces.

The meeting echoes one last year at which Mr Zeng met medical professionals who contributed to the fight against the Sars outbreak. The experts were the first to benefit from a decision to reward leading scientists with a holiday in the villas originally reserved for senior government officials.

But the presence of Mr Zeng and other senior Communist Party and government officials at Thursday's meeting sparked speculation among analysts about whether an important meeting was being held.

Officials attending the meeting are all known as either proteges or allies of ex-president Jiang Zemin, who chairs the Central Military Commission.

Beidaihe, a three-hour drive from Beijing, was the traditional venue for power plays in the Communist Party until last year.