BEIJING (Reuters) – One of China’s most senior financial officials is likely to lead the fight against corruption, a top priority in the world’s second-biggest economy, following his appointment to a key council at the end of the Communist Party’s 18th congress on Wednesday.

Known as “the chief firefighter”, Wang Qishan, 64, is currently the vice-premier in charge of economic affairs, under Premier Wen Jiabao.

BEIJING, Nov 14 (Reuters) – A respected trade negotiator and
former banker is likely to head China’s fight against
corruption, a top priority for the world’s second-biggest
economy, following his appointment to a key council at the end
of the 18th congress of the Communist Party.

Known as “the chief firefighter”, Wang Qishan, 64, sorted
out a debt crisis in southern Guangdong province where he was
vice governor in the late 1990s. Later, he replaced the sacked
Beijing mayor after a cover-up of the deadly SARS virus in 2003.

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s ruling Communist Party amended its guiding charter on Wednesday to tighten oversight of officials, a move reflecting the depth of concern about abuse of power in the wake of a scandal involving former political heavyweight Bo Xilai.

The closing session of the five-yearly party congress also changed the party constitution to explicitly endorse reform and opening as “the path to a stronger China” and made a nod towards growing environmental problems by promoting “ecological progress” as part of the party’s development strategy.

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese Communist Party leader Hu Jintao’s opening speech at the ongoing 18th Party Congress was a disappointment to many listeners, offering no major signals that the leadership is willing to advance political reform.

The 64-page keynote speech he delivered was couched in the usual conservative and Marxist terminology, but one paragraph buried deep in the text was just what proponents of a long-running experiment in public policy consultations have been waiting for.

BEIJING (Reuters) – As the senior Communist Party official in one of China’s most prosperous regions, Wang Yang is often cast as an agent of change, a potential force for economic and even political reform should he gain promotion to the party’s highest rung later this week.

But the chief of the southern province of Guangdong appears to be distancing himself from that role while attending the party congress that will usher in China’s once-in-a-decade top leadership transition.

BEIJING (Reuters) – Two rising Chinese political stars who may join the top leadership next week said on Friday they believe officials will eventually have to declare their assets publicly, as the Communist Party battles persistent corruption.

The comments by Wang Yang, party boss of Guangdong province, and Yu Zhengsheng, Shanghai’s Communist chief, come at a time of heightened sensitivity about the wealth of China’s top leaders on the eve of a once-a-decade leadership transition.

BEIJING (Reuters) – In 1981, five years after his death, China’s ruling Communist Party began to save history from Mao Zedong.

Today, speculation about whether it is poised to finish the job has cast a spotlight on one of the most emotive debates simmering inside the party – how much of Mao can it erase without undermining its authority.

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – It looked like another victory for the people when the Chinese city of Ningbo announced the suspension on Sunday of a petrochemical project after days of street protests by citizens concerned it would pollute their community.

It may turn out to be more complicated.

As China’s increasingly affluent urban population battles back against the breakneck growth-at-all-costs model that has fuelled the economy for three decades, environmental activists say the apparently straightforward narrative that has played out several times in recent years – government backs down, citizens win – is simplistic.

XIANGSHAN/WUKAN, China (Reuters) – Hua Youjuan is an unlikely Chinese official.

Free-spirited but driven, she left her village at age 17, got a degree in marketing, and opened a string of businesses in nearby cities in eastern China before settling in the coastal boomtown of Ningbo, 160 km (100 miles) from home.

SHANGHAI, Oct 29 (Reuters) – China’s construction equipment
sector is slowly but surely digging itself out from under a
mountain of inventory and will return to growth in the second or
third quarter of next year as the economy recovers, the
president of Sany Heavy Industry Co Ltd said.

Xiang Wenbo said that will set up the industry for a return
to high-speed growth during the 2013-2017 period, which he
expects to be a “golden age” of development in China under new
Communist Party leaders due to take office at a once-a-decade
handover in November.