China:President Hu Jintao unveiled a new-look politburo standing committee yesterday, giving the world a first glimpse of the country's power elite and valuable clues as to who will succeed Mr Hu at the helm of the world's most populous country in 2012.
Mr Hu and eight stiff men in identical blue suits walked out onto the podium to greet journalists, one day after the formal end to a week-long Communist Party congress that was big on public displays of activity but that restricted most of the real action to behind closed doors.
The message that emerged from the 17th party congress was that China's rulers plan to provide more of the same and answer growing calls for greater accountability and more openness with tweaks to the existing system rather than any fundamental changes.
The hammer and sickle loomed large over much of the congress's proceedings and in TV coverage of the event, and that is unlikely to change much in coming years, even if the theoretical focus has switched from Marxist-Leninism to "socialism with Chinese characteristics", or the pragmatic form of communism espoused by the 73 million-member party.
Rather than address the issue of introducing more democracy in China and other aspects of structural reform, the party renewed its pledge to crack down on rampant corruption in public life and do more to narrow the widening wealth gap.
The outcome shows that, five years into the job, Mr Hu (64) has the support of his colleagues in the party. The fact that he has been able to shape the politburo in his image while apparently avoiding any internal wrangles is a credit to his position as peacemaker among cadres, juggling the demands of reformers in one faction of the party and conservatives on the other side.
Mr Hu has shown himself to be an economic reformer but tough in clamping down on any kind of political dissent.
First to be introduced in the line-up following Mr Hu onto the podium were the existing members - Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin and Li Changchun. Next up came the new members of the all-powerful panel - Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang.
The focus is on two of these men as they are both seen as potential successors - Xi Jinping (54), party secretary from Shanghai, and Li Keqiang (52), party head from the industrial province of Liaoning.
The fact that Mr Xi, one of the "princelings" of good communist stock, emerged ahead of Mr Li suggests that he may be in line to assume the top position of president and party boss, while Mr Li, who comes from Mr Hu's power base in the Communist Youth League, could take the less powerful position of premier.
Their incorporation onto the standing committee of the politburo marks the ascendancy to influence of the next, fifth generation of leaders since chairman Mao Zedong. Although the current leadership is made up almost exclusively of engineers, the next generation will have a more market-friendly aspect - Mr Xi is a doctor of law, while Li Keqiang is a doctor of economics.
The congress did much to get rid of the residual influence of former leader Jiang Zemin. A very public sign of this was when vice-president Zeng Qinghong, an ally of Mr Jiang, stepped down from the central committee.
There was much discussion during the congress of Mr Hu's keynote policy of building a "harmonious society" and focusing on "scientific development", and his programmes have been enshrined alongside previous leaders such as Chairman Mao and Deng Xiaoping, as well as Jiang Zemin, whose "Three Represents" theory is now part of doctrine.
The press conference to announce the appointments received almost blanket coverage on Chinese television. The congress has been marked by a new openness on many levels - greater access for the media, more analysis on TV; in many ways the TV coverage is like that of a general election in Ireland, except without the voting.
The media centre was located a good distance away from the Great Hall of the People where the event was staged, but the press section was careful to remind journalists to wrap up warmly.
The weather has been cooler, but it has been phenomenal - clear air, blue skies and very little smog - suggesting the clouds may have been seeded to clear up the sky for the congress.
On the streets of Beijing, the reaction ranged from cynicism to indifference to delight. One middle-aged man reading the Beijing Youth Daily in Ritan Park said he had seen many changes in political life in China during his life, but was happy with the way the congress had gone.
"I'm very satisfied with changes in Chinese society in the last 10 years, particularly when it comes to politics. Nowadays people are more focused on the economy rather than politics," said the service industry worker.
"No matter how the congress goes and how the changes go, the party is following a path and we'll have this framework for the next 30 years, so I don't pay attention to who goes up and down.
"There is more representation and that's a good thing, as it means more bottom-up representation," he said.
A 38-year-old company clerk surnamed Zhang was more sceptical. "I am not very concerned with politics. For the party congress, it's practically the same old tricks. I watched the opening session for 40 minutes, and listened to part of President Hu's speech and it just addressed the same old topics," he said.