China's Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) took the helm of the world's most populous nation yesterday, but President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) clung to power from the shadows of retirement by stacking the Communist Party's new leadership with allies.
Hu, 59, was appointed party chief at the head of the "fourth generation" of leaders.
After months of secretive jockeying, the new lineup emerged from behind a carved wooden and lacquer screen in the Great Hall of the People in the dramatic finale to the first succession in China untainted by purges, plots or bloodshed.
"On behalf of all members of the newly elected central leadership, I thank all comrades of the Party for their trust," said Hu, in a dark suit and red tie, as China's new leaders faced the world's media for the first time.
The ceremony, televised live, was the first many of China's 1.3 billion people learned of the most sweeping shakeup since Jiang took power in 1989 after a bloody crackdown on student protests on Tiananmen Square.
"Jiang Zemin's not there!" a stunned Li Jiahui exclaimed in a Beijing carpet shop as he watched his new leaders file out behind Hu, the only one on the previous Politburo Standing Committee.
"We didn't expect so many to retire," said Zui Yan, 29, finance officer at a joint venture company in Beijing.
The new Standing Committee was expanded from seven to nine members and packed with Jiang allies, guaranteeing him a say in policy making.
Jiang kept his post as head of the Central Military Commission. However, it was unclear if Jiang would keep the position only until a parliament meeting next year, for two years like Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平), or for the full five years until the next congress in 2007.
Jiang also wields power as author of the "Three Represents" theory which was written into the party constitution on Thursday, putting him on a symbolic plane with Mao Zedong (毛澤東) and Deng.
Hu pledged to follow Jiang's theory, which sanctions opening the party to private entrepreneurs. He also vowed to push ahead with economic reforms.
"The whole party and people from all ethnic groups will unite more closely and concentrate on construction and development so as to continue pushing forward China's reform, opening up and modernization drive," he said.
The 15-minute ceremony in the Great Hall offered no further clues to Hu, who looked relaxed and confident during his speech, referring only occasionally to his notes, and introduced his colleagues with a couple of light off-the-cuff remarks.
Hu was effectively designated Jiang's heir when he was made the youngest member of the Standing Committee in 1992, but has kept a very low profile ever since.
The new Standing Committee, expanded to nine members for the first time since 1973, contained six people with close affiliation to Jiang, analysts said.
Premier Zhu Rongji's (朱鎔基) favorite -- Vice Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶), 60 -- became No. 3 in the party.
Parliament chief Li Peng's (李鵬) protege -- internal security chief Luo Gan, 67 (羅幹) -- was last in the nine-man leadership, although not head of the party's anti-corruption body as expected.
Most important was the promotion of Jiang's main adviser and hatchet man, Zeng Qinghong, 63, (曾慶紅) who takes over the day-to-day running of the party as head of its powerful Secretariat.
Vice Premier Wu Bangguo (吳邦國), 61, a former Shanghai party boss, became party No. 2 and is expected to take over the parliament in March.
Beijing's former party boss, Jia Qinglin (賈慶林), 62, joined the Standing Committee despite being tainted by a huge smuggling scandal that unfolded when he was party boss in Fujian Province.
Huang Ju (黃菊), 64, who stepped down as Shanghai party chief last month, took the No. 6 slot and is likely to become the executive vice premier.
Wu Guanzheng (吳官正), 64, party boss in Shandong Province, was No. 7 and took over the party's anti-corruption Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
No. 8 was Li Changchun (李長春), 58, party boss of Guangdong Province.
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