Zeng Qinghong, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 16th CPC Central Committee, was yesterday chosen as secretary-general of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

More than 2,200 Party delegates gathered at the Great Hall of the People yesterday afternoon for a preparatory meeting where they also chose a 237-member group to oversee the congress which opens today.

The group, called the Presidium, then selected four senior Party leaders as deputy secretaries-general for the five-yearly congress, which is scheduled to elect a new central committee that will decide the CPC's new leadership lineup for the coming years.

Zeng is also a member of the Secretariat of the 16th CPC Central Committee.

The four deputy secretaries-general selected by the Presidium are Liu Yunshan, Zhou Yongkang, He Guoqiang and Wang Gang.

The first three are members of the Political Bureau and members of the Secretariat of the 16th CPC Central Committee while Wang is an alternate member of the Political Bureau and member of the Secretariat.

According to the CPC Constitution, the political bureau and its standing committee exercise the power of the CPC Central Committee when it is not in session. The Secretariat is the executive body of the political bureau.

The meeting approved the agenda for the congress, whose main items are:

* to hear and examine the report submitted by the 16th CPC Central Committee;

* to examine the report on the work of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection;

* to deliberate and adopt the amendment to the Party Constitution; and

* to elect the Party's 17th Central Committee and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Xinhua

(China Daily 10/15/2007 page1)