The Times offers a biographical portrait of Xi Jinping, the newly appointed Shanghai party secretary:
Mr Xi is a scion of one of the Communist Party’s most respected revolutionary families and is presently the party boss of Zhejiang province, in the southeast, which is one of the most prosperous regions in China.
As Shanghai party secretary he should be assured of a seat on the ruling Politburo ” in an electoral process that is little more than a formality ” when the party’s Central Committee convenes for its next plenum, probably in mid-spring.
At 53, he will become the youngest member of the Politburo and thus a contender for its elite nine-member standing committee and for a future leadership post. [Full text]
