China’s five-yearly congress of the ruling Communist Party will start on October 18th. Some 2,300 hand-picked delegates will select 200 members of the 400-member Central Committee, which will, in turn, choose roughly 10 of the 25-member Politburo. Most attention will focus on who makes it into the Politburo’s Standing Committee. Five of its seven members are due to retire, including Xi’s supporter Wang Qishan. 

For President Xi, this is an opportunity to install loyalists and shore up his legacy. Who gets promoted and who doesn’t could have a significant global impact, as the world’s second-largest economy posts its slowest pace of 
growth in a quarter of a century.

 
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