BEIJING (Reuters) – Over 2,000 delegates to a twice-a-decade congress of China’s ruling Communist Party in Beijing elected a new 205-person Central Committee on Saturday that will set the course of Chinese policymaking for the next five years.
Among the newly elected members of the Central Committee, the largest of the party’s top decision-making bodies, was Xi Jinping, 69, who is widely expected to be named general secretary on Sunday, securing a precedent-breaking third term as its leader.
Also on Sunday, the Central Committee will vote on its next Political Bureau, or Politburo, usually comprising 25 people, and its Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), the pinnacle of power in China, helmed by Xi.
Here are some notable members of the new Central Committee, by age:
-Wang Yi, 69, state councillor and foreign minister
-Wang Huning, 67, member of the seven-person PSC
-Cai Qi, 66, Politburo member and party chief of the municipality of Beijing
-Li Xi, 66, Politburo member and party chief of Guangdong province
-Zhao Leji, 65, PSC member
-He Lifeng, 65, head of the National Development and Reform Commission
-Li Qiang, 63, Politburo member and party chief of Shanghai
-Chen Miner, 62, Politburo member and party chief of Chongqing
-Ding Xuexiang, 60, Politburo member
-Hu Chunhua, 59, Politburo member and one of China’s four vice premiers
-Yi Huiman, 57, head of the China Securities and Regulatory Commission
-Yin Yong, 53, deputy party chief of the municipality of Beijing and a former deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China
Omitted from the new Central Committee were head of parliament Li Zhanshu, 72, and Vice Premier Han Zheng, 68.
Under an unofficial “seven-up, eight-down rule,” PSC members who are 68 or older retire during the party congress. However, Premier Li Keqiang, although 67, was also left out.
Notable omissions from the Central Committee, including from among its 171 alternate members, are:
-Li Keqiang, China’s premier and PSC member
-Wang Yang, 67, PSC member previously expected to succeed Li Keqiang as premier
-Guo Shuqing, 66, party chief of the People’s Bank of China and head of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission
-Yi Gang, 64, governor of the People’s Bank of China
(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by William Mallard)
