Sustaining the pace of reform a cause for concern
In the hail and farewell at the conclusion of the party congress, continuity, solidarity and consensus have been the major themes. But some fear the absence of someone with the forceful personality of Premier Zhu Rongji may affect the momentum of economic reforms ahead.
'Deepening reform has come to a critical stage where economic interests are increasingly politicized. Building consensus takes more time and political skill,' a source at an economic think tank said.
At the very top, Hu Jintao is seen sharing power with Zeng Qinhong, the long-time protege of Jiang Zemin who will function as a de facto vice-general secretary, and other Jiang allies who make up the majority of the standing committee.
Wen Jiabao, the vice-premier and likely successor to Mr Zhu, has had ample experience in agriculture and finance as an understudy of Mr Zhu, but he comes across as a cautious man, and well aware of his isolation.
In many areas, he will defer to Huang Ju, former party boss of Shanghai and close ally of Jiang Zemin. Mr Huang is tipped to replace the outgoing Li Lanqing as a vice premier.
At the operational level, Mr Wen is likely to reply on experienced hands like Dai Xianglong, governor of the People's Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan, head of the Chinese Securities and Regulatory Commission, Li Rongrong, director of the Commission of Economy and Trade. In a possible reshuffling, Mr Dai will become a state councillor and will be replaced by Mr Zhou.
Zeng Peiyan, a former state planning commission director and a close ally of Jiang's, is expected to be promoted to a vice premier position.
This group of veterans of economic affairs can be counted on to implement changes in compliance with China's membership of the World Trade Organisation. But when it comes to deepening reforms among state-owned enterprises and in the agricultural sector, the leaders will likely take longer to make hard choices and progress will be protracted.
Already, a slowdown of reforms in the financial sector, especially in the securities market, set in earlier this year as the government halted its plan to reduce state shareholdings, a source said.
In the new politburo, party bosses from several major provinces, such as Hui Liangyu of Jiangsu, Zhou Yongkang of Zichuan, and Yu Zhengsheng of Hubei, are also strong candidates for vice premier positions.
Wu Yi, a newly elected politburo member with extensive experience in foreign trade negotiations, is expected to succeed Qian Qichen in charge of foreign affairs and policies related to Taiwan after Mr Qian's retirement next March.
The nine members of the Politburo's Standing Committee, without exception, have engineering backgrounds. All adorned with college degrees, the group boasts the Politburo's best educational level ever. Four of them - Hu Jintao, Wu Banguo, Huang Ju, and Wu Guanzheng - are graduates of the elite Qinghua University.
Expanding the Standing Committee to nine members from seven is a sign that more diverse interest will be represented at the highest level, but a log-jam is unlikely given the dominance of the Jiang proteges, observers say.
