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China's leader targets corruption China communists 'falling short'
(30 minutes later)
Chinese President Hu Jintao has delivered a tough message on corruption at the opening of the Chinese Communist Party's five-yearly congress. Chinese President Hu Jintao has said in a keynote speech that the Communist Party he leads has fallen short of the people's expectations.
Mr Hu said that the party's "very survival" depended on "resolutely punishing" corrupt officials. Speaking at the start of the party's 17th congress, he also lashed out at officials who were extravagant, wasteful and corrupt.
He said that despite economic growth there were many social and environmental concerns facing China. President Hu's criticism came as he assessed the party's recent performance in front of senior leaders.
Mr Hu is set to consolidate his power at the congress, which will also indicate likely leaders for 2012. The gathering is held every five years to decide policies for coming years.
The congress is the Communist Party's most important political event. The political agenda for the next five years will be approved during the week-long talks. Heads bowed
Spreading benefits President Hu said: "While recognising our achievements, we must be well aware that they still fall short of the expectations of the people."
Mr Hu's speech, says the BBC's Daniel Griffiths in Beijing, was a frank admission that the government had failed to tackle some of the major problems facing the country. [We] will never allow anyone to separate Taiwan from the motherland in any name or by any means Hu Jintao
Speaking in front of more than 2,000 delegates in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Mr Hu said that a changing China faced both unprecedented opportunities and unprecedented challenges. Some of the problems faced by ordinary people relate to employment, housing, social security and education, he said.
Our economic growth is realised at an excessively high cost of resources and the environment Hu Jintao He was particularly critical of party leaders who used their position to provide for themselves, a theme President Hu has often spoken about.
Ending corruption, he said, was a major task. "A small number of party cadres are not honest and upright," he told more than 2,200 delegates.
"Resolutely punishing and effectively preventing corruption bears on the popular support for the party and on its very survival," he warned. "[Their] extravagance, waste, corruption and other undesirable behaviour are still serious problems with them," he said.
In recent months, several high-profile officials have been caught in bribery scandals, while corruption among lower-level local officials is seen as a key cause of discontent for China's poor. There is heavy security outside the Great Hall of the People
Mr Hu acknowledged the growing divide between rich and poor, saying the party had to ensure China's wealth was distributed more evenly. The congress began when the country's top leaders filed out on to the podium in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, which was bedecked in red flags.
China's economic boom has caused pollution to soar In an indication of how much sway former President Jiang Zemin still holds, he emerged immediately after President Hu and sat next to him on the podium.
"There are still a considerable number of impoverished and low-income people in both urban and rural areas, and it has become more difficult to accommodate the interests of all sides," he said. A military band than played the national anthem before party leaders bowed their heads to remember the party's founding fathers.
The Chinese leader also promised development policies that protected the environment. To polite applause and with a hammer and sickle symbol behind him, President Hu then began his speech.
"We will implement a responsible system for conserving energy and reducing emissions," he said. As well as criticising the party's performance over the previous few years, he also laid out its future plans.
"Our economic growth is realised at an excessively high cost of resources and the environment." One of the main goals is to build a "moderately prosperous society" by 2020.
On Taiwan, the Chinese leader called for a peace agreement. "Let us discuss a formal end to the state of hostility between the two sides," he said. Short on specifics
He warned Taiwan against any formal declaration of independence, but did not use the occasion to threaten the use of force, as his predecessors have. Later on Mr Hu defined that task as quadrupling the country's year 2000 per capita gross domestic product by 2020.
New leaders Mr Hu also had a warning for Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing considers part of China. The two sides split in 1949.
During the congress, Mr Hu is expected to further entrench policies aimed at spreading the benefits of economic growth more equally across society, analysts say.
MAJOR THEMES OF THE CONGRESS promoting 'social harmony''scientific development'building a 'well-off society'consolidation of President Hu's positionMAJOR THEMES OF THE CONGRESS promoting 'social harmony''scientific development'building a 'well-off society'consolidation of President Hu's position
His policies of "scientific development" and "social harmony" are expected to gain ground. He said the forces of "Taiwan independence" were stepping up their efforts to separate the island from China.
But the congress is also about selecting China's leaders for the next five years, and beyond. "[We] will never allow anyone to separate Taiwan from the motherland in any name or by any means," he warned.
BBC China correspondent James Reynolds says Mr Hu is widely expected to get a second and final term of office but is also likely to promote a probable successor to take over from him in 2012. Mr Hu's speech was typical of those delivered by senior Chinese officials at these well-orchestrated gatherings.
There has been widespread speculation about who will be elected to the politburo's elite standing committee. It was laced with well-worn official phrases such as "socialism with Chinese characteristics".
Li Keqiang, the current chief of Liaoning province, and Shanghai boss Xi Jinping have both been tipped to join the committee. It was long, but short on specifics.
Mr Hu, for example, promised to "expand socialist democracy", but did not explain exactly what that means.
On Sunday, Li Dongsheng, the spokesman for the 17th congress, said China would never adopted Western-style democracy.
But one thing appears clear. President Hu has cemented his position at the top of the party hierarchy.
His personal contribution to party theory - scientific development - was placed on a par with contributions from other top leaders.
In the speech it ranked alongside Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and ex-President Jiang's Three Represents.
Little is known about Hu Jintao beyond the brief, official biography.
But in his closing remarks, he perhaps revealed something of the man he hopes the public see him as.
"We must guard against arrogance and rashness, preserve plain living and struggle hard," he said.