China's new leaders took centre stage yesterday with outgoing Communist Party chief Jiang Zemin presiding from behind the scenes. By exploiting the same clauses inserted into the party constitution in the 1980s to enable Deng Xiaoping to remain de facto chief after relinquishing his other posts, Mr Jiang will, like Mr Deng, stay on as chairman of the Central Military Commission, even though he is no longer party secretary or a member of the Central Committee.
Mr Jiang's residual influence is a blot on an otherwise well-orchestrated succession process that has seen the old guard stepping down to give way to a new generation. It is a reminder that power in China still comes out of the barrel of the gun and resides ultimately in one person through a process known as democratic centralism. It also shows the party has not fundamentally resolved the issue of succession.
The unprecedented orderly transfer of power has been achieved by Mr Jiang out-manoeuvring his opponents and putting his proteges in place. That shows the party still has a long way to go before establishing a truly democratic, transparent and bottom-up process of choosing its leader.
Yet, credit must be given to Mr Jiang for successfully managing the first stage of transforming China's planned economy to one largely based on market forces during his 13-year reign. If his staying on for a short period enables his team to find their feet, that may be no bad thing.
The challenges facing the new leadership are no less daunting than those of their predecessors. China's next stage of development will see a wide range of its domestic industries, from agriculture to banking, having to face foreign competition following admission to the World Trade Organisation.
As the forces of globalisation pound the mainland, continual reform and privatisation of state-owned enterprises will see further rises in the number of displaced workers, who will have to fend for themselves in the absence of adequate social security.