CHINA’S NEW STANDARD COMMITTEE

AFTER MONTHS OF MYSTERY, CHINA UNVEILS NEW TOP LEADERS

Jaime A. FlorCruz and Jethro Mullen

CNN, November 15, 2012

Beijing (CNN) -- China on Thursday unveiled the elite group of leaders who will set the agenda for the country for the next decade, the culmination of months of secretive bargaining and a carefully choreographed performance of political pomp.

The seven members of the powerful committee that sits atop the Chinese system strode out onto a stage in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. They were led by Xi Jinping, who takes over from Hu Jintao as head of the Communist Party, which has ruled China for more than 60 years.

Xi is joined on the new Politburo Standing Committee, the party's top decision-making body, by Li Keqiang, who is expected to replace Wen Jiabao as premier early next year, and five other veteran party officials.

Although the committee's lineup is new, analysts said it appeared to be predominantly conservative and unlikely to bring about meaningful political changes in the world's most populous nation and second largest economy.

Xi also succeeded Hu as head of China's powerful Central Military Commission, which oversees major national security and military affairs. That makes for a cleaner transition than in the past two power handovers, when the former party chiefs held onto the key military role for years afterward, using it to keep exercising considerable power and influence.

A far cry from the relentless media campaigns and frequent public appearances of U.S. presidential candidates, the efforts to determine who ended up in China's most powerful posts have taken place behind closed doors, part of a once-in-a-decade leadership transition.

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