Monitor | Zhang Gaoli's Tianjin economic model promises disaster for China
If Zhang Gaoli becomes the next economics supremo, his record of debt-driven expansion is exactly what the country does not want in future
Next week as the party faithful wait for China's new leaders to shuffle on to the stage in the Great Hall of the People, hopes will be riding high that the latest line-up of bosses will press ahead with the economic reforms needed to sustain the country's economic growth.
Unfortunately, the early signs are not promising.
According to the latest indications, China's new economic czar will not be the familiar figure of Wang Qishan.
Instead, the smart money is now betting that the less well known Zhang Gaoli will step up as China's new executive vice-premier in charge of economic affairs.
That is worrying, because Zhang's record in office hardly paints him as an ardent advocate of liberalisation.
At first glance he might look like a promising choice as China's new economic supremo. For the past five years Zhang has presided over the government and economy of Tianjin, China's fastest-growing province.