Hu to cement power as China's communist elite charts future

As 500 members of the party's Central Committee and other top cadres met in Beijing for the biggest political event of the year, observers were hoping for subtle hints about the future course of the world's most populous country.

"The directions of Hu or the party's political reform agenda is akin to trying to make the party more like Singapore's government, technocratic and efficient," said Sun Yan, a China expert at The City University of New York.

"The buzz word is good governance, not democracy," she said.

Top-level political rivalry is usually kept far from public view in China, but the meeting could briefly offer insights into internecine battles at the highest rungs of power.

Last month Shanghai party boss Chen Liangyu was sacked, officially because of corruption charges, but he is also largely seen to have been a victim of a Hu power play.

The plenum could see moves to evict Chen completely from the political hierarchy, marking a decisive defeat for a group of leaders closely associated with the city of Shanghai and former president Jiang Zemin.

"It's all political even if it's not political," said Ralph Cossa from Hawaii-based think-tank Pacific Forum CSIS.