Opinion | Influence of predecessors will test Xi Jinping's political skills

With the Communist Party's 18th congress just weeks away, the overseas media has focused upon the summer resort of Beidaihe where mainland leaders are slugging it out behind closed doors to pick the so-called fifth generation of officials to lead the country for the next 10 years.

The latest speculation from Beidaihe is that the horse-trading has been intense, indicating that the question of who the new members of the Politburo Standing Committee will be may not be settled until the last minute.

Even though the Beidaihe meetings are expected to wrap up this week as the leaders return to Beijing, the suspense over the new leadership line-up is most likely to continue until the congress, scheduled for sometime in October.

Despite the heightened political uncertainty, there is every reason to believe the transfer of power will be orderly and peaceful, not least because Vice-President Xi Jinping and Vice-Premier Li Keqiang , who are groomed to take over as president and premier respectively, already sit on the Politburo Standing Committee.

As is the custom, the outside world will get a first glimpse of the new leadership line-up only on the last day of the congress when Xi leads the other new members onto a stage in front of reporters in the Great Hall of the People.

But Xi's leadership will be far from smooth, not only because the mainland's development is at a critical turning point and the party's legitimacy is facing mounting challenges due to the rampant official corruption and the rising gap between rich and poor.