Hu's grip on power in China tightens

By James Kynge in Beijing
Published: September 19 2004 19:50 | Last updated: September 19 2004 19:50

China's president, Hu Jintao, has consolidated power during a key Communist party plenum that ended on Sunday as his rival and predecessor Jiang Zemin stepped down as head of the armed forces and lost a campaign to get his chief prot��漏g��漏 promoted to a position of influence.

Mr Jiang, 78, stepped down as chairman of the party's Central Military Commission (CMC) and Mr Hu will take his place, Xinhua, the official news agency, said. The move completes a transfer of power to Mr Hu, 61, that started in late 2002 when he took over from Mr Jiang as general secretary of the Communist party.

In a surprise sign of his waning influence, Mr Jiang failed at the plenum to secure a post for Zeng Qinghong, his prot��漏g��漏, within the CMC. Party sources said Mr Jiang had been insisting that Mr Zeng, who is a politburo member and vice-president, be appointed to a role as vice-chairman.

The upshot of the plenum, foreign diplomats said, was that Mr Hu might encounter less resistance now that the influence of Mr Jiang and his supporters appeared so clearly to have diminished.

"Some of the officials that have been thought of as loyal to Jiang have actually been courting favour from Hu recently," said one senior party source. "It was becoming clear that Jiang's era is over."

But Mr Hu's consolidation of power was not expected to have immediate policy implications. Although he and Mr Jiang sparred over issues of emphasis in foreign policy, domestic politics and economics, their basic approaches were similar, party sources said.

Mr Hu and Wen Jiabao, premier, have been associated with efforts to cool China's torrid economy with "macro-economic controls". They are also known for their emphasis on a more transparent and accountable form of government.