Shanghai chief in show of allegiance

Xi tells cadres to study President Hu's views in run-up to party congress

Shanghai party chief Xi Jinping has rallied local cadres to study guidance from President Hu Jintao in an important show of allegiance in last-minute politicking ahead of the 17th party congress, at which Mr Xi is among contenders to become Mr Hu's heir apparent.

Mr Xi, chairing a meeting of the city's party committee on Thursday, 'emphasised the need to conscientiously study and grasp and thoroughly implement the guiding spirit of Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao', Shanghai's Oriental Morning Post reported yesterday. Mr Hu visited Shanghai this week for the opening of the Special Olympics.

The call was made two weeks before the Communist Party opens its five-yearly congress, where one of the most crucial decisions to be made will be to choose Mr Hu's successor when the party chief retires in 2012.

The Shanghai party chief, who in recent weeks has emerged as a strong candidate to inherit Mr Hu's position, also asked his local lieutenants to ensure the 'integrity', 'authority' and 'effectiveness' of the central government's macroeconomic control measures.

Analysts said it was a deliberate reference to the defiant attitude exhibited by his predecessor, Chen Liangyu , who refused to implement Beijing's measures because of concerns they would hurt growth.

Mr Chen, a leading member of the 'Shanghai Gang' - former party chief Jiang Zemin's power base - was sacked in September last year for his alleged involvement in a billion-yuan pension fund scandal. It is widely believed that Mr Hu sought to kill two birds with one stone with his anti-corruption campaign: cleaning up party members' behaviour and weeding out Mr Jiang's allies. The Shanghai meeting also decided to learn a lesson from Mr Chen's downfall and push harder in an anti-graft drive, the newspaper said.