Hu Jintao has been urged to cede the presidency to Vice-President Zeng Qinghong, a rival-turned-ally, and focus on extending Communist Party power as party general secretary, Reuters reported, citing sources with close ties to the top leadership. Zeng's allies have called for him to be promoted at the National People's Congress' annual session next year, sources said. "There are voices in the party that it is no longer necessary for one person to hold all three positions," one source said, referring to the presidency and the top party and military positions – all held by Hu. A second source said Zeng's supporters were arguing for a return to the system of the late 1950s and early 1960s, when power was shared by four national leaders. The practice continued under Deng Xiaoping in the early 1980s, but Jiang Zemin was given the presidency and the top party and military posts to bolster his relatively weak position as he rose to power after the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
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