Speculation rife over standing committee

is divided among Chinese academics and experts on who will be the new members of the Communist Party’s highest decision-making body and whether its strength will be reduced from seven to five.

The names of the new members are secret and will be known only when President Xi Jinping leads them out to a stage at the Great Hall of the People on October 25, a day after the national congress of the Communist Party officially concludes.

In 2012, when Xi took over as general secretary of the party, the number of members was reduced from nine to seven.

With four of the current members expected to retire, and uncertainty looming over whether member and anti-graft czar Wang Qishan will get a new post, there has been widespread speculation about new members.

Hu Chunhua, the 54-year-old party secretary of Guangdong, and Chen Miner, 57, the party secretary of Chongqing, are seen as the top contenders.

The other names being circulated are Wang Yang, one of the four vice-premiers, and Li Zhanshu, 67, director of the party’s national security commission.

Real power in China lies with the standing committee, currently headed by Xi in his capacity as general secretary of the Communist Party.

Meetings of the committee are never made public. How the committee works is shrouded in mystery too but decisions are believed to be taken after intense negotiations.

“Most people think Li Zhanshu, Han Zheng, Hu Chunhua, Wang Yang, Chen Miner are highly possible,” Zhang Lifan, Beijing-based historian and political commentator, told HT.

BEIJING:Opinion