The exact date has not yet been announced. But in a few months' time, starting with its five-yearly plenary congress, China's Communist Party will begin the biggest leadership reshuffle since the death of Chairman Mao in 1976. For China's sake, the party's policy should change too. For the passing of the baton to a new generation of leaders comes at a crucial juncture in China's development. The country's transition to a market economy has entered its most difficult phase. China thinks it has learnt how to become rich. Its entry into the World Trade Organisation last December helped to clarify its economic objectives for the years ahead. But it has no comparable plan for the political changes needed to manage the wrenching ones that economic reform will bring. That reform is forcing the party to relax its grip over ordinary citizens' lives. But as the party retreats, it is still reluctant to let other forces fill the gaps. It remains suspicious of any new organisation, be it a charity or a consumer association, that it does not control itself (see our survey of China in this issue).
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