BEIJING, March 3: Thousands of delegates from across China meet this week to seal a power transfer to new leaders who have raised expectations with a deluge of propaganda during their first months running the Communist Party.

Xi Jinping is due to replace Hu Jintao as China’s President at the annual National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing, a parliament which meets on Tuesday. Li Keqiang will become premier, replacing Wen Jiabao.

It is the final step in a generational handover, four months after they took charge of the ruling party with pledges of cleaner government and greater devotion to people’s livelihoods — themes echoed across state-run media.

Xi’s official appointment as president will end months of uncertainty following his appointment as Communist Party leader in November, said Jean Piere Cabestan, politics professor at Hong Kong Baptist University.

“There’s a lull of four to five months which partly paralyses the country because the top leaders can’t continue to operate the way they did before,” he said.

Xi’s position in the Communist party is his real source of power, but his forthcoming government title will give him a more visible role, including on state trips abroad.

Nearly 3,000 delegates gather on Tuesday for around 10 days to pass measures pre-approved by party leaders, including a reorganisation of government bureaucracy that will see major ministerial mergers.

The congress is expected to abolish several ministries including the much-maligned railways ministry to try to streamline the bureaucracy.

But such changes are unlikely to rein in the state-owned enterprises which are powerful opponents of market-oriented reforms, Cabestan said.

“Whether it means we’ll have more market, fewer monopolies and vested interests remains to be seen... I don’t think there will be any fundamental changes.”

The NPC may address China’s “re-education through labour” system, which sees petty offenders sent to labour camps without trial. It has come under fire for its abuse by local governments as a way of quashing dissent.—AFP