In December 2004 Li was transferred to the position of Secretary of the CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee. In Liaoning, a heavily industrialized province, Li has continued to build on his work and experiences in Henan.

Generation after reform

"They belong to the generation that's grown up during the reform and opening up period," said Wang Wei, a professor at the China National School of Administration. "They were born in a difficult time but they stepped into society somewhere around 1978, the year that China's reforms kicked off."

As children of that generation, "they all have firm faith in China's reform and opening up," he added.

Mao Shoulong, head of the Department of Public Administration, Renmin University of China, added, "They are direct beneficiaries of the reforms and wave riders of the market economy. They matured during the time of mind emancipation and are able to absorb Western thoughts. They are more flexible and tend to ignore petty regulations."

"Higher educational background" is another feature of the rising younger generation of leadership, according to Wang, and many of them had already made outstanding achievements in their fields of work before coming to power.

In June 2006, 45-year-old Xia Yong was appointed Director of the National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets (NAPSS). Shortly after his appointment the NAPSS declared that starting that August the death tolls of natural disasters would no longer be regarded as state secrets, a move which immediately won praise from the general public.

Xia's open attitude and courage has much to do with his strong academic background. In 1995 he was voted one of China's top 10 legal academics and his book, The Origins of the Human Rights Concept, earned him increasing fame. At the age of 39, Xia became the leading lecturer on China's legal system in the Zhongnanhai, the headquarters of the Communist Party of China.

Like Zhou and Xia, much of China's the new crop of younger top officials comes from the fields of economics and law. For example, Secretary of the CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee Li Keqiang holds a doctor's degree in economics. Secretary of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee Li Yuanchao holds a master's degree in economic management and a doctor's degree in jurisprudence.

The increasing selection of top officials with high levels of education from different academic backgrounds demonstrates that the Central Government has become more far-sighted in seeking out future talent to guide the country, said Yang Fengchun, an associate professor at Peking University.

Selection mirrors change

The surge in more youthful top officials can be attributed to a proposal that China's leadership should be made younger, made by Deng Xiaoping, the father of China's market-oriented reforms, in the 1980s, according to Cai Xia, a professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee. These younger officials are looking ahead, are keen, and have a strong sense of responsibility, he added.

Cai believes the rise of political figures from economic and law backgrounds is a reflection of changes taking place in China.

"At the beginning of the reforms, technology development was highlighted in China's modernization progress so cadres selected at the time mostly came from science and technology backgrounds," Cai said.

In the 1990s, China has undergone a dramatic change in its social structure. "A deeper and more comprehensive understanding of modernization reveals the importance of social reform besides technology," Cai said. As a result the CPC is looking for a wider range of talent. Modern China needs officials with management expertise besides technological knowledge, he noted.

According to Liu Qiyun, a professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, developing countries go through several stages, which call for different skills in governing them. At one stage of development, engineers assume more power, while at a later stage scholars with skills in social management are in greater need.