Chinese President Hu Jintao has emerged stronger from the just-concluded 17th Communist Party congress. He has been re-elected for another term to its Politburo Standing Committee.  His re-election as President by parliament in March is now only a formality. Questions over his control over the military – he failed to assume the mantle of the chief of the Central Military Commission upon becoming President in 2003 and inherited it only a year into his first term as President – appear to have been settled with his reappointment at the party congress as head of the CMC. President Hu has now consolidated control over both the civil and military arms of government. Not only has he been re-elected for another term but other power centres that stood in the way of his exercising full control have also been checkmated effectively. Former President Jiang Zemin’s allies such as Zeng Qinghong have been pushed into retirement. Their stepping down will enable President Hu to shake himself free of his predecessor’s influence and provide him with more room for manoeuvre. The balance in the Standing Committee is said to have shifted away from Jiang loyalists. President Hu seems to have successfully weakened the clout of his predecessor, who has hitherto been playing a role behind the scenes. But that influence lingers as evident from the re-election of two scandal-tainted Jiang loyalists.

 President Hu has received an important boost with the party congress enshrining his ‘scientific outlook on development’, which emphasises balanced and sustainable economic growth, into its constitution. Strengthened by decisions and developments at the party congress, President Hu is expected to move away from policies adopted by his predecessor. He is said to be in favour of negotiations with Taiwan to reach a peace agreement. He needs to focus attention not only in maintaining the economic growth rate but also in ensuring that all sections of society are beneficiaries of the country’s growth story. He also needs to tackle the environmental and social consequences of this growth and the corruption that is endemic in China.
The line-up of leaders announced at the party congress reveals those who will steer China in the next five years. More importantly, it provides pointers to potential successors to President Hu. Shanghai party chief Xi Jinping and the head of Liaoning province, Li Keqiang, are frontrunners in the race for succession.