China to hold Communist Party meeting next month; observers look for clues on succession

China to hold Communist Party meeting next month

BEIJING — China’s ruling Communist Party plans to hold a key gathering in mid-October that will be closely watched for signs that the current vice president remains on track to take over leadership of the country next year.

Announcements in state media Wednesday made no mention of new appointments or political topics to be discussed at the meeting of the party’s Central Committee, referring only to plans to review the next five-year economic plan.

However, speculation is rife that Vice President Xi Jinping will be appointed vice president of another powerful committee that oversees the military at the Oct. 15-18 session, signaling that he remains the consensus choice to take over as president and party leader beginning in 2012.

An apparent delay in the succession plans led many observers to wonder if Xi was facing opposition from allies of the current president and party leader, Hu Jintao. Hu is believed to favor another contender, Vice Premier Li Keqiang.

But Hu has been forced to work with a party leadership stacked with proteges of his predecessor Jiang Zemin, who has repeatedly moved to curb Hu’s influence.

Rivalries among the leadership are never discussed in China’s entirely state controlled media and Wednesday’s reports on the upcoming meeting mentioned only that “other matters” were discussed at a planning session Tuesday.

The next economic plan, which takes effect next year is expected to focus on shifting the roaring economy into a sustainable mode focused more on services and away from basic manufacturing.

While China has ably weathered the global financial meltdown, next month’s meeting will seek to “solidify and expand” measures taken to respond to the crisis.