China’s Reform Hopefuls Watch for Names. Only One May Matter.<br />On Wednesday, speaking at the opening of the Communist Party’s twice-per-decade congress, Mr. Xi said<br />the party would “support state capital in becoming stronger, doing better and growing bigger.”<br />Willy Lam, a specialist on the Beijing leadership at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said: “It’s difficult<br />to imagine Xi Jinping moving toward a reformist position, because Xi Jinping is a pre-modern person.<br />Among the candidates who may join the Communist Party’s top body next week is Wang Yang, an official credited with fostering greener, more sustainable economic growth in Guangzhou<br />and elsewhere in southeastern China when he was the top party official in Guangdong Province.<br />If named to the Politburo Standing Committee, Mr. Wang would “be one of the seven,”<br />said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political scientist at Hong Kong Baptist University.<br />Still, when the party’s congress closes next week, world economic leaders may glean some clues about China’s direction<br />depending on who is named to the Politburo Standing Committee, the seven-person group that makes its top decisions.<br />Should Mr. Wang be named to the committee, that could suggest a slightly greater emphasis over the next five years on<br />economic reform, such as giving private enterprise more freedom or curbing dependence on state-directed lending.
