XI JINPING SLATED FOR PARTY SCHOOL PRESIDENT,

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIJING 007331 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2032 TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI KCUL CH SUBJECT: XI JINPING SLATED FOR PARTY SCHOOL PRESIDENT, CHINA'S VP SLOT Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Embassy contacts have told PolOffs that newly-promoted Politburo Standing Committee Member Xi Jinping will soon be appointed president of the Central Party School (CPS),replacing former Politburo Standing Committee Member Zeng Qinghong, who retired at the mid-October 17th Party Congress. These contacts also tell us that Xi will become China's vice president at the National People's Congress (NPC) in March 2008. End summary. ¶2. (C) CPS Vice President Li Junru (protect) confirmed to a visiting Senate staffer on November 29 that Xi would definitely be appointed to the two posts. CPS scholars Wang Jun (protect) and Deng Yuwen (protect) in separate meetings with PolOff earlier made similar predictions, but with different degrees of certitude. Wang volunteered on November 19 that Xi would "quite possibly" become CPS president in the near future and that "if so, would then become vice president" at the NPC. On November 20, Deng, senior editor at the CPS official paper Study Times, offered that Xi would most certainly become CPS president before long and possibly the country's vice president as well. ¶3. (C) Comment: Xi's appointment to these high- profile positions would bolster his status as the front-runner to succeed Hu Jintao as Party General Secretary at the 18th Party Congress in 2012. SIPDIS RANDT