As manoeuvring continues in the run-up to the long-anticipated 16th Communist Party Congress in Beijing, there is widespread speculation on the changes to the political and economic landscape that will be likely to flow from the November gathering.
Certainly, the stakes are high. Not only is the Congress likely to determine the vital issue of leadership succession, it will also illuminate the thorny question of the direction of party ideology.
In particular, President Jiang Zemin's plan to use the Congress as a forum to insert his homespun political philosophy, known as the 'Three Representations', into the Com-munist Party constitution, has created controversy.
In part, Mr Jiang is motivated by a desire to secure his political legacy. The adoption of the Three Representations will elevate him alongside Deng Xiaoping, who had his Theory, and Mao, who had his Thoughts.
But the issue has real-world implications too. Although the contents of Mr Jiang's theory remain vague, one basic premise is that the Communist Party must move with the times, representing the nation's most advanced productive forces, its most advanced culture, and the broad interests of the people.
In more concrete terms, this means the party should officially move to embrace private businesses, allowing entrepreneurs equal status as Party members. Although last year Mr Jiang invited private businessmen to join - and indeed some have been Party members for years - they have never been formally acknowledged.