Vice-President Zeng Qinghong was the key figure behind the recent provincial leadership changes that saw Xi Jinping installed as party secretary in Shanghai, the South China Morning Post reported. Sources said that Zeng had the full support of President Hu Jintao, another indication of the alliance that has been forged between the two leaders ahead of the party congress this autumn. They are widely believed to have joined forces to remove Xi's predecessor in Shanghai, Chen Liangyu, who was implicated in a corruption scandal involving the city's pension fund. It was also claimed that Xi had been earmarked for the post ever since Chen's sacking and that the appointment had received the blessing of former President Jiang Zemin. Although often identified as a Jiang ally, Xi is in fact closer to Zeng, the newspaper reported.
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