The China Syndrome

The figurative puff of smoke announcing China's change of leadership has, at last, risen from the chimney of the Great Hall of the People. But the transition, however smooth, throws up more questions than it answers. The direction in which the so-called fourth generation headed by Hu Jintao takes the country still remains uncertain. That will depend on what sort of relationship the new leaders have with the more elderly third-generation who have now largely lost their official titles, if not their actual power, and on whether Jiang Zemin will be willing to give up the post of chairman of the...