BEIJING, Nov 15 � China�s �princeling� Xi Jinping was today crowned the new head of the ruling CPC and the powerful military in a smooth transition to steer the world�s second largest economy over the next decade, ending the 10-year reign of President Hu Jintao amid concerns over rampant corruption and widening rich-poor divide, reports PTI.
59-year-old Xi, who was the Vice President till now, will replace Hu as President in March, while Li Keqiang, 57, will succeed Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, capping years of jockeying within the Communist Party of China, the world�s biggest political party which has monopolised power here since 1949.
Shortly after he was elected CPC General Secretary in a carefully choreographed event held at the ornate Great Hall of the People here, a confident-looking Xi stepped on to a special stage in front of a large local and foreign media and introduced six other �fifth generation� leaders, who together formed the party�s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee.
Sounding candid in his first speech, he spoke of the rampant corruption within the party and its alienation from people, identifying them as major issues to be addressed.
�Under the new conditions, our party faces many severe challenges, and there are also many pressing problems within the party that need to be resolved, particularly corruption, being divorced from the people, going through formalities and bureaucratism caused by some party officials,� he said.
�We must make every effort to solve these problems. The whole party must stay on full alert,� Xi said.