Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (R)
© AFP/POOL/file Andrew Wong

BEIJING (AFP) - The reforms will seek to change a system where government involvement in the economy has led to powerful monopolies, widespread environmental degradation, a glaring wealth gap between rich and poor, and rampant corruption, they said.

Hu's agenda of "building a harmonious society" is the main theme of the Communist Party's chief political event of the year, a four-day gathering of 500 cadres in Beijing that began on Sunday.

It is also expected to serve as the centerpiece of his drive for a second five-year term, which will be decided at the party's next five-yearly congress in late 2007.

"This program is a major move by Hu's leadership team to assert themselves for very deep reforms," said Sidney Rittenberg Sr., a former translator of revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, who has lived in China for more than 40 years.

"The Hu-Wen (Premier Wen Jiabao) team are pushing for a big step forward in reform, but there is lots of resistance with many local officials striving to maintain the status quo."

Dong Yin Building on Beijing Road, one of the property developments where money from the Shanghai Pension Fund was allegedly illegally invested
© AFP/file Mark Ralston

During 25 years of booming economic growth, local officials are well known to have enriched themselves through vast state control of land, energy, transport and telecommunications.

This has often been at the expense of lower levels of society such as China's massive population of farmers, which stood at just under 750 million last year, according to government statistics.

In an effort to delink the government from the economy, Hu has embarked on an anti-graft campaign aimed at removing officials who have failed to follow his policies and refused to give up their economic powers, Rittenberg said.

The removal last month of powerful Shanghai party boss Chen Liangyu, the highest sacking of a party official for corruption in over 10 years, has been the most prominent recent case.

Rittenberg also pointed to the firing this year of a Beijing vice mayor and top officials in Tianjin city and Henan and Hubei provinces as evidence of Hu's determination.

The sackings have also highlighted Hu's growing confidence in his political power after taking over from Jiang Zemin as Communist Party chief in 2002 and the nation's president in 2003.

Observers expect that, with this increased political security, Hu will take even greater measures ahead of next year's congress to deepen his power base and strengthen his hand in imposing his economic agenda.

A Chinese peasant searches for recyclable items in a rubbish bin on Tiananmen Square, Beijing
© AFP Chai Hin Goh

"Hu Jintao needs to have his own people on the politburo if his efforts to push forward the reform of the political system is going to be easier," said Guan Anping, a Beijing lawyer who has advised the central government on legal reforms.

"Without the support of the politburo, the hardliners will resist."

Shanghai party boss Chen was the first member of the 24-person politburo to be sacked in Hu's house cleaning.

Retirements of other members of the politburo and its powerful nine-member standing committee who were appointed during Jiang's reign can be expected at the next year's party congress.

Observers believe such retirements will likely include Vice Premier Huang Ju, Jia Qinglin, the head of the parliament's advisory body, and propaganda czar Li Changchun.

But according to Kenneth Lieberthal, a China expert at the University of Michigan, such important political changes will not include fundamental democratic reform.

"Hu's efforts may be more pluralistic in nature, but they will also be aimed at improving the Communist Party mechanisms and strengthening the party's rule... there is no talk of fundamental democratic change here," Lieberthal told AFP.

©AFP