Em Xangai

The top leadership line-up of the Communist Party of China (CPC) made a group debut Monday morning on their election at the first plenum of the 17th CPC Central Committee, with Hu Jintao reelected as Party chief for a second term.

New faces in the pinnacle Political Bureau Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee are Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang. They joined the nine-member echelon with the five remaining members of the previous standing committee, namely Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin and Li Changchun.

Other newcomers in the 25-member Political Bureau are Wang Gang, Wang Qishan, Liu Yandong, Li Yuanchao, Wang Yang, Zhang Gaoli, Xu Caihou and Bo Xilai.

Six of the newly elected Political Bureau members and the CPC Central Committee Secretariat were born in the 1950s. They spent their formative years in a peaceful but changing China.

They outlived the severest natural disasters in modern China that lasted from 1959 to 1961, witnessed in their childhood the frenetic development drive of Great Leap Forward (1958-61), and grew up during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), which threw China into a decade-long turmoil.

With bachelor's degrees and doctorates, they rose from the grassroots, acquainted themselves with the lives of the people and stood out with expertise in economy, business management and social sciences.

"With these people joining in, the central collective leadership of the Party has gained more vigor and vitality," Professor Liu Chun, deputy dean of the Graduate Institute of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said.

New blood

Xi Jinping, 54, was trained as a chemical engineer at the prestigious Tsinghua University and much later got a doctorate in law.

Earlier this year, Xi was appointed Party chief of China's commercial and financial hub Shanghai and has given a new look to the eastern municipality after a corruption scandal felled his predecessor Chen Liangyu, who is now under criminal investigation for alleged illegal use of 3.2 billion yuan ($426 million) social security funds.

A native of Shaanxi Province, Xi said he spent "his most memorable time", about 17 years, in Fujian, an economic powerhouse in East China.

While steering the Fujian provincial government, Xi encouraged better public services for increasing trade between Fujian and Taiwan. Ma shang jiu ban (Go and handle it) is his trademark tag for efficiency.

After being promoted in November 2002 to the post of Party secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Xi mapped out a package of measures ranging from ecology to culture to foster harmonious development in the province.

Li Keqiang, 52, the youngest of the newly elected, mounted the political ladder from the very bottom as Party secretary of a village-level production unit.

From the first-secretary of the Chinese Communist Youth League to the chiefs of China's major granary provinces Henan and Liaoning, the doctor of economics from the Economic Institute of Peking University co-authored a treatise titled "On the Tri-Structure of China's Economy" and won over the country's top economic award, the Sun Yefang Economic Prize.

Sources close to Li said he cared about the sufferings of the public and was good at integrating Marxist and Western economic theories with China's economic reforms.

He Guoqiang, 63, an engineer-turned Party cadre, established his name playing tough against corruption since taking over the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee in 2002.

He opened the hotline 12380 to encourage people to report corrupt officials and vowed to crack down on the pernicious practice of landing promotions by greasing palms.

The native of Hunan Province commanded the country's largest-ever drive in the Party's history on Marxism education to secure the vanguard role of CPC members.

He also served as the governor of Fujian Province and Party secretary of Chongqing Municipality.

Zhou Yongkang, 64, minister of public security and the first commissar of the Armed Police Force, was recognized for his bold and resolute reforms to rectify the work style of the police and eliminate corruption.

"Be clean, exercise self-discipline and abide by the law. Neither abuse power for personal gain nor take bribes. Do not provide protective shield to offenders," Zhou, also State Councilor, taught the police.

A native of Jiangsu Province, Zhou once served as general manager of the China National Petroleum Corporation, minister of land and resources and Party secretary of Sichuan Province.

In the words of Li Lianyu, a delegate to the 17th CPC National Congress, which closed on Sunday, the injection of new blood to the central leadership is crucial for the country to materialize the goals put forth by the Party.

"We count on the new central collective leadership to steer the country into prosperity and harmony at a new starting point," he said.

Talking to the press Monday, Hu Jintao said on behalf of the new leadership that the Politburo Standing Committee is fully aware of its heavy duties and will mobilize the Party and the people to advance the national drive and live up to the trust and expectations of the people.