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The elders will have much to discuss when the 13th Congress convenes. Paramount Leader Deng is expected to relinquish two of his three top posts, including chairmanship of the Central Advisory Commission, a council of party senior statesmen. Deng, 83, will keep full control of the army and remain China's top leader. Premier Zhao Ziyang, 68, is to be installed as party General Secretary, a post he has been filling on an acting basis. Zhao, however, will have to give up the premiership. Vice Premier Li Peng is favored to succeed him. While it would not confirm the changes, China's official Xinhua news agency noted that the average age of China's leaders will be "reduced considerably" by the Congress. The princes' faction will undoubtedly be part of that youth movement.
