Leadership changes expected at party congress

The Chinese Communist Party will make changes to its leadership by the end of the 17th party congress, which opened today, the Financial Times reported. Xi Jinping, Shanghai's party secretary, and Li Keqiang, party boss of Liaoning province, were promoted to the standing committee of the politburo. The two men are expected to be promoted to the positions of party secretary and premier, respectively, when President Hu Jintao steps down in 2012. Hu's inability to place Li as his definite successor was seen as an example of the growing necessity of compromise and consensus in party politics. Former finance minister Jin Renqing was dismissed from the congress because of "serious disciplinary violations," including involvement in a sex scandal. The congress' spokesman, Li Dongsheng, responded to recent calls for democratic reforms, saying that "China will never copy Western political systems," and affirming the necessity of reform adhering to party doctrine.