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China’s next handover at the national level will happen in a couple years - and the next generation of leaders has been identified and groomed. What is interesting is that they are broadly defined into two camps - the Elitists and the Populists. The Elitists came up through central communist party families and the Populists through rural Chinese youth league groups. One form each camp will hold the top two posts and “share” power.

One is current Vice-President Xi Jinping, a former party boss in Shanghai and Zhejiang and he will succeed Hu. Vice-Premier Li Keqiang will likely succeed Premier Wen Jiabao. This is the fifth generation, and there are fewer engineers and more management and finance majors, including successful entrepreneurs. Most of the fifth generation of civilian leadership were educated in Chinese elite universities.

It will be a peaceful turnover of power, and little is expected to change when it happens. How they will respond over the next few years of their tenure could change though. This group is one that has seen China’s power and economic strength grow during their adult years - they aren’t just looking at how to lift China up, but how to stabilize and secure its place in the world.

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