The resignation of Mr. Jiang Zemin as chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), the country's top military post, completes the transfer of power from Mr. Jiang to his successor, Mr. Hu Jintao. The handover is a landmark in modern Chinese politics, but its political impact is unclear. Mr. Jiang's resignation is unlikely to herald any major shift in policy in Beijing. Nevertheless, China's new generation of leaders have fully grasped the reins of power and the very nature of that transition holds out hope for the future.
Mr. Hu was designated China's leader in waiting by former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. He took the helm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2002 and assumed the presidency of China a year later. Control of the third and final lever of power, that of the CMC, remained in the hands of Mr. Jiang, however, prompting speculation that the former leader wanted to retain influence over decision-making. Others countered that Mr. Jiang had credibility with the military that Mr. Hu did not, and holding on to the CMC chair was designed to ease the transition to the new leadership. In fact, Mr. Hu had been vice chairman of the CMC for five years and had overseen several difficult and potentially contentious projects.
Mr. Jiang surrendered the final position last weekend at the CCP's Central Committee's annual meeting. Some attributed the handover to ill health on Mr. Jiang's part; his term was scheduled to run until 2007. The former president has reportedly come under pressure to step down to complete the transition to the fourth generation.