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Wen Jiabao
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Promotion to set Wen on leadership path

Wen Jiabao

Politburo member Wen Jiabao is tipped to be the only cadre to be promoted to vice-premier at the National People's Congress.

The elevation of Mr Wen, 55, would confirm him as a potential top leader of the party's fourth generation after third-generation stalwarts such as President Jiang Zemin and premier-designate Zhu Rongji retire.

As the NPC opened yesterday, deputies heard that the number of vice-premiers would probably be cut from six to four as part of the overall restructuring of the bureaucracy.

Sources close to the legislature said incumbent vice-premiers Li Lanqing, Wu Bangguo and Qian Qichen would stay, while Jiang Chunyun would become a vice-chairman of the NPC.

The sources said Mr Wen, also a member of the Central Committee secretariat, would focus on such matters as finance and agriculture.

A native of Tianjin, he has spent most of his career as a party functionary but has had plenty of exposure to agriculture. He is also secretary-general of the party's Leading Group on Finance and Economics headed by President Jiang.

Sources said Mr Wen, once a top aide to ousted party chief Zhao Ziyang, owed his elevation to his lack of a distinct faction affiliation, and the fact that he was acceptable to President Jiang and Mr Zhu. A Western diplomat said Mr Wen's assumption of a senior government post would give him enough exposure to catapult him to the front ranks in five years.

He said Mr Wen would either take over the portfolio of Mr Jiang Chunyun as agriculture chief or become head of a proposed commission on financial affairs.

Meanwhile, the number of state councillors will also be slashed, from the existing eight to about four.

It is understood that the party Central Committee plenum late last month briefly considered a proposal to abolish the rank of state councillor, which is half-way between vice-premier and minister in seniority.

Analysts said three senior cadres, Foreign Trade minister Wu Yi, People's Bank of China governor Dai Xianglong, and head of the State Economic and Trade Commission Wang Zhongyu, were expected to be nominated state councillors.

Other prominent fourth-generation leaders include Wu Bangguo and Politburo member Hu Jintao.

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