State media lavishes praise on rising star

Xi Jinping, the emerging dark-horse candidate to head China's next generation of leaders, has received lavish praise from the state media for the second time in a week.

With about two weeks to go before the 17th Communist Party Congress, the Shanghai party secretary was once again singled out for praise by Xinhua in its lengthy report titled 'Harmonious Shanghai welcomes the Party Congress'. Mr Xi took over the Shanghai post from disgraced Chen Liangyu in March.

On September 22, People's Daily ran a lengthy commentary praising Shanghai's new leadership.

Mr Xi, 54, is a rising political star and is widely rumoured to become a new member to the Politburo Standing Committee. Mr Xi is the son of the late reformist vice-premier Xi Zhongxun .