Man Of The Year: Leaders Eager to Advance: China

The next generation of leaders will help decide whether reforms succeed or fail

For six days during the fall, the drama of succession unfolded inside the cavernous Great Hall of the People in Peking. At stake were the future of China's political leadership and the fate of its economic reforms. By the end of the Communist Party conference, 131 senior officials, mostly in their 70s and 80s, had agreed to step down from high positions. That spate of resignations, the biggest party shake-up in nearly a decade, prepared the way for the rise of a new generation of leaders who will guide China into the 21st century.

The carefully planned changes were part of...

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