LI PENG TO RETAIN No 2 RANKING IN HIERARCHY

Prime Minister Li Peng will retain his No 2 ranking in the official hierarchy after the forthcoming NPC session confirms him as chairman, according to sources.

Mr Li has held this ranking for nearly a decade. He was inducted into the elite Politburo Standing Committee at the 13th Party Congress in October 1987 and became premier soon after.

In May 1989, veteran leader Deng Xiaoping made arrangements for the emergence of the third-generation party leadership with Jiang Zemin as its core.

Mr Li was placed just behind Mr Jiang in the party hierarchy and the Jiang-Li axis was formed.

No matter what office Mr Li holds, his second-in-command position will not change.

After the 15th Party Congress last September, rumours circulated that Mr Jiang would step down from the state presidency and Mr Li would take over.