ABSTRACT
In mid-November 2002, after a formal election of the Central Committee following the Sixteenth Party Congress, the CCP announced the coming to power of a new group of leaders. They were given membership on the Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) and would succeed Jiang Zemin and his associates. Known as the fourth generation-Mao’s was the fi rst, Deng Xiaoping’s the second, and Jiang’s the third-these men constituted the “core leaders” chosen to navigate China’s journey into the new century.
