China Communist Party Congress closes

China’s Communist Party has ended its week-long congress in Beijing. But officials are still ‘keeping mum’ about who is taking over at the top. Possibly the worst kept secret in Chinese politics, the country’s 10-year leadership change will finally be announced on Thursday. Vice-President Xi JinPing is tipped to become the Communist party’s new chief and later the country’s leader. As current leaders Hu Jintao and Wen Ja Bao hand over the reins of power to younger men, current Deputy Premier Li Keqiang is also expected to be promoted. The Politburo Standing Committee, the party’s top decision-making body is expected to have its members reduced from nine to seven. At the congress, delegates also discussed plans for economic and political reforms. But leaders maintain there are no plans for a Western-style democracy. Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun said: “The road of political development that China is taking will certainly not be like the United Kingdom. China will take its own special path, because China is the world’s biggest developing country.”