Another surprise omission was Wang Yang, who is regarded as Hu and Wen’s student and the star figure for reform. Both Wang Yang and Li Yuanchao’s absences from the Standing Committee signify that Hu and Wen did not really have a say in who gets selected.
Hu Jintao will retire completely and Xi Jinping will become the chairman of the Military Committee. This means that Hu Jintao is completely out of the center of power in the Party. Hu’s influence will be weaker than that of Jiang Zemin, who retired 10 years ago.
If Hu’s retirement was meant to be a trade in exchange for Jiang stopping his continued interference in politics in the Party, Hu will have been tricked. At the 15th Congress, Jiang forced Qiao Shi into retirement, and at the 16th Congress, Jiang forced Li Ruihuan into retirement, using the same old trick.
Reform Hopes Shattered
In the past 10 years, Hu Jintao accomplished nothing as the CCP general secretary. He will accomplish even less after retirement. When people recall Hu’s record, perhaps the only thing to remember is Hu’s attention to trivial matters and his image as a yes-man, kowtowing in front of Jiang Zemin.
There are those in the Party that sought to save it through reform. In the conversations Xi Jinping had with reformer Hu Deping that Reuters reported at the beginning of September, Xi discusses the urgency of reform for the Party and how it has to get right the pace of reform.
