BEIJING (Reuters) - When President Hu Jintao opens the 17th Chinese Communist Party congress on Oct. 15, he will be seeking to oust key rivals, name a successor and finally emerge from the shadow of his once powerful predecessor, Jiang Zemin.
A stronger grip on power could allow Hu to speed up his drive to balance breakneck but uneven economic growth, improve the lives of poor farmers, build a social safety net, halt rampant environmental degradation and promote "fair and just" policies.