Shanghai, Guangdong party boss vacancies coming soon, but who’s got what it takes to fill them?
Speculation begins as early front-runners to take over in key economic centres now seemingly out of the contest
After the Communist Party unveiled its new leadership line-up on Wednesday, the question now on everyone’s lips is who will become the new bosses of Guangdong province and Shanghai, China’s two most important economic centres.
The guessing game was made more complicated by the fact that the two people previously considered front runners for the positions – Guangdong governor Ma Xingrui and Shanghai mayor Ying Yong – failed to secure seats on the 25-member Politburo. In the past, the two jobs were usually held by Politburo members.
The current Shanghai party boss is Han Zheng, who is set to leave the post after being promoted to the Politburo Standing Committee where he will most likely serve as an executive vice-premier.
His opposite number in Guangdong, Hu Chunhua, is also expected to move on. Although he was not promoted to the Standing Committee he retained his seat on the Politburo and has been tipped to land a senior post within the central party or state apparatus.
Since the early 1990s, most of the top boss in Shanghai and Guangdong has been a member of the Politburo, and it seems safe to assume that tradition will continue.
