CHINA: China's parliament yesterday selected Mr Wen Jiabao as Prime Minister, placing the world's fastest-growing major economy in the hands of a man who must also tackle deep problems in the banking system and a widening wealth gap.
Mr Wen (60) was confirmed as successor to the highly respected Mr Zhu Rongji by the National People's Congress, China's ceremonial legislature, as it winds down its annual two-week session.
Nearly 3,000 delegates gathered in Beijing's Great Hall of the People off Tiananmen Square to vote on Mr Wen's appointment and put the final stamp of approval on a historic handover to a younger generation of leaders.
Parliament also re-elected Mr Xiao Yang as a senior judge and chose the former public security chief, Mr Jia Chunwang, as senior prosecutor to tackle the corruption in the economy.
Mr Wen, who as vice-premier under Mr Zhu handled a wide range of issues from finance and scientific research to disaster relief, received 2,906 votes for and three against, with 16 abstentions.
When the results flashed on a screen in the main hall, Mr Wen smiled, took a bow and shook hands with Mr Zhu.
He now takes the reins of the world's sixth-biggest economy, which registered 8 per cent growth last year. He will try to keep it growing by at least 7 per cent this year and bring the country farther down the path of capitalist reform.
His appointment followed the confirmation of the Communist Party chief, Mr Hu Jintao, as President on Saturday. Mr Hu succeeded Mr Jiang Zemin, who will continue to wield power behind the scenes as chairman of a powerful military body.
A former geologist, Mr Wen also has a breadth of experience that is expected to serve him well, analysts said.
"Wen is universally regarded as a responsive and highly adaptive individual," Mr Barry Naughton, an expert on China's economy at the University of California, San Diego, wrote in a recent paper.
"His intelligence is unquestioned. He is meticulous and extremely hard-working. He is reputed to be personally honest, his personal habits seem above reproach, and his family is not tainted by accusations of corruption." - (Reuters)