President Jiang Zemin yesterday retired as the head of the Communist Party, beginning what is billed as China's first orderly and rule-based transfer of power.

Today, a younger leadership headed by Vice-President Hu Jintao will be put in place.

However, party sources said last night that Mr Jiang, 76, may remain as chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission.

Mr Jiang and five other top leaders - including National People's Congress Chairman Li Peng and Premier Zhu Rongji, both 74 - are not on the party's new Central Committee that was elected yesterday on the last day of the 16th party congress.

Mr Hu, 59, is the only member of the seven-person Politburo Standing Committee to remain. He is certain to replace Mr Jiang as party general secretary. The Central Committee will meet today to elect the new Politburo, Politburo Standing Committee, Politburo secretariat and members of the Central Military Commission.

The other three members of the Politburo Standing Committee - China's highest ruling body - who have stepped down are Li Ruihuan, 68, Wei Jianxing, 71, and Li Lanqing, 70.

Following the election of the Central Committee, which was closed to the media, more than 2,100 delegates reportedly burst into applause as a sign of respect for Mr Jiang and his colleagues and for 'the breadth of their political vision and sterling integrity', the state-controlled Xinhua news agency said.

Delegates said the retirement of Mr Jiang and other top leaders would affect neither China's reforms nor its economic liberalisation.

'I think [the change in leadership] is what the party requires. This will ensure that a younger generation of officials will take over and demonstrates that the party will have a lot of successors to carry on its causes. The power transition is a part of the natural process,' said Wang Xiaofeng, the deputy party secretary and governor of Hainan province.

Zhong Changmin, another delegate, said even though Mr Jiang's name was not on the candidate list for the Central Committee, some delegates had proposed asking him to stay on as general secretary.

'Regardless of whether he retires or not, he will still play a major role,' he said.

Membership of the Central Committee, comprising more than 300 full members and alternates, provides a broad hint at the composition of the new Politburo Standing Committee.

Among the 23 full and alternate members of the previous Politburo, only 10 have remained and they will become the frontrunners for the new Standing Committee.

There have been suggestions the Standing Committee could be expanded to nine.

The 10 are Mr Hu; Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao; Vice-Premier Wu Bangguo; Zeng Qinghong, Mr Jiang's most trusted aide; former Shanghai party boss Huang Ju; former Beijing party boss Jia Qinglin; Shandong party boss Wu Guanzheng; Luo Gan, the mainland's top official in charge of law and order; Guangdong party boss Li Changchun; and State Councilor Wu Yi.

Wu Guanzheng looks set to become the chairman of the party's anti-graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), as he is the only top official to be named on the new list of the commission's members.

The chairman of the CCDI automatically secures a seat on the Politburo Standing Committee.

Among the Central Committee members, more than half are new faces - many of them newly appointed provincial party secretaries or ministers.

In a sign of the rising power of Mr Hu, many of his allies with links to the Chinese Communist Youth League have made their way to the central leadership.

Some examples are the director of Xinhua, Tian Congming, Tibet party boss Guo Jinlong, Tibet chairman Legqog, Gansu party boss Song Zhaosu and Governor Lu Hao, Guizhou party boss Qian Yunlu, Personnel Minister Zhang Xuezhong and Minister of Water Resources Wang Shucheng.

Mr Hu's chief of staff, Ling Jihua, was also selected to become an alternate member of the Central Committee.

While Mr Jiang's proteges already have a stronghold on the Central Committee, he has managed to promote several more of his backers.

However, two of Mr Jiang's favourites, Shenzhen party boss Huang Liman, and his chief bodyguard, You Xigui, barely received enough votes to become alternate members of the Central Committee.

The absence of some familiar names on the list may also provide hints to the future political shakeup.

Unpopular top prosecutor Han Zhubin failed to be re-elected, showing he is likely to step down in March.

Guangdong Governor Lu Ruihua has also failed to be re-elected, hinting that he is likely to be replaced by his deputy, Huang Huahua, a new member of the Central Committee.

Vice-Premier Qian Qichen, who has long been in charge of Hong Kong affairs for the party, has also stepped down. Liao Hui, a new member of the Central Committee, is likely to continue as director of Hong Kong and Macau affairs.

Gao Siren, director of the Central Government Liaison Office in Hong Kong was also elected to the committee.

Zhu Rongji's right-hand man, Wang Zhongyu, secretary-general of the state council, is not on the list, hinting that rising star Ma Kai is likely to take over his post.

The promotion of Vice-Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing to the Central Committee has made Mr Li the frontrunner to succeed Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan in March.