Hu Jintao meets Army delegates of Party Congress

BEIJING—Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, state president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, had a meeting with military delegates of the just-ended 17th Party Congress on Monday evening.
Guo Boxiong, Cao Gangchuan and Xu Caihou were present at the meeting, at Beijing’s Jingxi Hotel, along with other former and newly-elected senior military officials Yang Baibing, Zhang Wannian, Chi Haotian, Zhao Nanqi, Liang Guanglie, Chen Bingde, Li Jinai, Liao Xilong, Chang Wanquan, Qiao Qingchen, Jing Zhiyuan, WuShengli and Xu Qiliang.
Hu and the others were greeted with warm applause and they shook hands and had pictures taken with the Army delegates. The military delegates represent the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP).
According to law, the Chinese armed forces are definitely under the leadership of the CPC. The newly-elected top leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), with four new faces added to the all-powerful Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Monday promised to “serve the people wholeheartedly” and “promote social equity and justice”. Hu Jintao, 64, was reelected Party chief for a second five-year term at the first plenum of the 17th CPC Central Committee, which was attended by the 204 members and 167 alternate members.
The central committee was elected at the end of the seven-day 17th National Congress of the CPC on Sunday. Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang joined the nine-member Standing Committee. The others are Hu, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin and Li Changchun.
Before taking over as Party chief of Shanghai earlier this year, Xi, 54, was the top Party official in Zhejiang Province and the governor of Fujian.
Li Keqiang, 52, is the youngest among the newly-elected. He was the governor of Henan before becoming Party chief of Liaoning. Hu led the new leadership line-up in the Great Hall of the People and introduced the new members to the media Monday.
“Both Xi and Li are relatively younger comrades,” Hu said. He Guoqiang, 63, has established a reputation for his tough stance against corruption since taking over the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee in 2002. He becomes head of the Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Zhou serves as the minister of public security and the first commissar of the Armed Police Force. In his speech, which was televised live nationwide, Hu vowed to do the best “to be worthy of the great trust” of all Party members and live up to the expectations of people.
“We will be firmly committed to development, which is the Party’s top priority in governing and rejuvenating the country, concentrate on construction and development, make all-round progress in developing the socialist market economy, socialist democracy, an advanced socialist culture and a harmonious socialist society, and strive for scientific development by putting people first and making it comprehensive, balanced and sustainable,” Hu said.
He also promised to press ahead with the reform and opening-up, serve the people wholeheartedly and adhere to scientific, democratic and law-based governance. “We will pursue an independent foreign policy of peace and unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development and a win-win strategy of opening-up.—Xinhua