The Communist Party of China (CPC) holds its Fifth Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee from Oct. 15-18. One of the most highly anticipated items on the agenda is the dubbing of Vice President Xi Jinping as a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), which will secure him a position as China’s next leader. This appointment, which is likely to take place on the final day of the plenum on Oct. 18, would prepare Xi to take Hu Jintao’s place as core leader of China in 2012 and future chairman of the CMC. Xi's smooth appointment will be a critical step toward the 2012 generational shift in leadership. In 2012, the CPC's leaders will retire and a new generation — the so-called fifth generation — will take the helm. The transition will affect the CPC’s most powerful decision-making organs, determining the makeup of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the Political Bureau (Politburo) of the Central Committee, and most important, the nine-member Politburo Standing Committee that is the core of political power in China.
