The Communist Party opens its annual meeting today against an intriguing political backdrop as calls for democratic reform have been mounting and speculation heats up on the future party leadership line-up.
The official agenda for the four-day party plenum - the most important annual gathering for party leaders - will be agreeing a strategic development blueprint for 2011-15.
However, much of the political intrigue will focus on whether Vice-President Xi Jinping , the long-anticipated successor to Hu Jintao as president and party chief, will be inducted into the top military policy-setting body, the Central Military Commission, as expected. Hu currently heads the body.
Xi didn't get the nod at last year's plenum, which raised a few eyebrows and intensified speculation about party factions fighting.
A total of 204 Central Committee members and 167 alternates are expected at the Jingxi Hotel in western Beijing for the meeting.
The plenum begins amid increasing calls for political reform, which have made waves on the internet and in national and provincial newspapers in recent days after Premier Wen Jiabao's high-profile statements over the past two months.