How rise and falls in rankings reveal true picture

For keen China watchers reading the tea leaves of opaque mainland politics, the most interesting news item of last week came on Monday. In a report about the funeral of Yang Baibing, a general best known for challenging former president Jiang Zemin but who ultimately failed and was sidelined, Xinhua for the first time ranked Jiang behind incumbent Politburo Standing Committee members such as Xi Jinping and President Hu Jintao.

The report has prompted overseas media, including this newspaper, to conclude that Jiang has signalled that he will fade away from the sphere of mainland politics, nearly a decade after he stepped down as the country's top leader.

On Wednesday morning, Xinhua released a short report confirming that, after the 18th party congress in November, Jiang requested that he be considered, along with other retired leaders, in future protocol rankings.

Until a week ago, Jiang, 86, ranked third in state media reports, behind Hu and Xi.

The ranking of incumbent and retired Chinese leaders is usually read out on national television and printed in major newspapers during important occasions, such as plenary sessions of the party congress and funerals of senior officials.

This is more than a matter of protocol and to show respect for party elders, as propaganda officials would have you believe. In fact, it denotes the political power and status of Chinese officials within the Communist Party.