China: Whispers of change

As it prepares to appoint a new generation of leaders, China's ruling Communist Party faces increasing pressure to change. A series of scandals has chipped away at the party's image of unity and a weakening economy threatens to raise public dissatisfaction.

The ascendance of Xi Jinping to the presidency and Li Keqiang to prime minister is in little doubt, but questions swirl over who will fill the remaining positions in the Politburo Standing Committee, which wields the ultimate political power in China.

The sacking of former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai last spring set off shockwaves across the political establishment and exposed fissures within the leadership.
A slowing economy and an increasingly restive society fed up with corruption and what it sees as a privileged elite held unaccountable by law are bringing new calls for reform.