China to unveil new state leadership lineup

BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Five years have passed since China last chose state leaders.

When nearly 3,000 deputies convene for the first session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), they will vote and decide on a new lineup of state leadership, including electing the president.

The country's Constitution says Chinese citizens who have the right to vote and to stand for election and who have reached the age of 45 are eligible for election as the president.

Xi Jinping was elected president in 2013 by the 12th NPC.

Besides electing the president, the 13th NPC will elect the vice president, the chairman of the Central Military Commission, the president of the Supreme People's Court, the procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and members of the NPC Standing Committee.

Due process is to be observed. The presidium of the NPC session draws up a list of nominees and submits it to delegations for discussion before a final list of candidates is chosen based on majority opinion.

Election methods will be decided at the NPC session.

China does not use the plebiscite model of democracy. Deputies elected to the NPC make state-level decisions on behalf of the people. The deputies are part-time, come from diverse backgrounds and do not form any caucus or clique.

Political theorists from China and abroad have seen advantages in this kind of leadership election, which is difficult to manipulate by the rich and prevents the kind of knockabout campaign circuses so familiar in the West.

Canadian political scientist Daniel Bell said Western-style democracy works best in small communities where issues are fairly easy to understand and voters know the leaders they are choosing personally.

As a way of choosing a national leader for a huge country, the Chinese meritocracy offers an alternative to political gridlock and populism, said Bell, dean of Shandong University school of political and public administration.

In addition to state leader elections, the NPC will also decide on a new cabinet lineup. The Constitution says the premier of the State Council is nominated by the president. The NPC will decide on the choice.

The premier then goes on to nominate his team -- vice premiers, state councilors, ministers, the auditor-general and the secretary-general. These nominees also need NPC endorsement.

Observers said the personnel and policy decisions made at this upcoming NPC session will prepare China to become a great modern socialist country by the middle of the century -- a goal set by the CPC at its 19th National Congress last October.

The next five years will determine whether the push to 2050 has a good start, said Zheng Changzhong, a professor of political science at Fudan University.0 A closer goal is to build a moderately prosperous society by 2020. The priorities are the prevention of major risks, reducing poverty and controlling pollution.

"With strong leadership at the national level, we can be confident of common prosperity," said NPC deputy Jia Hongtao, a village Party chief from Heilongjiang Province. Enditem