China’s Reform Hopefuls Watch for Names. Only One May Matter.

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