From BBC News:
Two men widely expected to join China’s next generation of top leaders have given no hint of their future prospects at a key political gathering.
Shanghai Communist Party boss Xi Jinping and his counterpart in Liaoning Province, Li Keqiang, are both tipped for high office.
But they ducked questions on whether they would join the politburo standing committee, China’s top political body.
Both men are attending the party’s 17th congress, held to endorse new policies. [Full Text]
Read also China: 2 Political Stars Shine, a Little by Christopher Bodeen:
In a congress tradition, Li, 52, and Xi, 54, joined delegates to discuss and praise Hu’s congress address delivered at Monday’s opening session. Taking questions at the session’s end, they pointedly avoided discussion of personnel issues while heartily endorsing Hu’s policies.
Asked what his greatest accomplishments in office had been, Li responded: “Liaoning’s achievements, I think, have come through the party center’s leadership and the hard work of all our province’s people toiling together.”
Xi, whose predecessor was toppled in a corruption scandal, was even more cautious.
“We are taking additional steps to explore and expand on the theory of scientific development and bring it to its full fruition,” Li said, referencing Hu’s signature ideology of balanced development and increased spending on social services. [Full Text]
