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Wen elected new Chinese premier

AFP, Beijing
Political survivor and skilled technocrat Wen Jiabao yesterday took the helm of China's government as Hu Jintao spent his first day as the new president and basked in the overwhelming support of parliament.
Wen, considered a quiet conciliator and consensus builder, was endorsed with 99.3 percent of the vote as premier to replace retiring economic czar Zhu Rongji, cementing the transition to a younger leadership following the election Saturday of Hu.
Lawmakers in Beijing's cavern ous Great Hall of the People have already appointed Wu Bangguo as chairman of China's 2,900-member parliament, replacing the retiring party loyalist Li Peng, 74.
With Wen's appointment, China's five top state posts have been filled by the men in the top five posts within the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee.
The picture of the "Fourth Generation" of communist leaders will be complete Monday when Wen selects his ministry with the National People's Congress drawing to a close Tuesday.
Both Wen and Hu have much in common and could become allies in an elite Chinese powerbase stacked with men loyal to former president Jiang Zemin, who retained considerable clout by being reappointed head of the military Saturday.
In particular, Jiang's right hand man Zeng Qinghong has been made vice president. According to the constitution, Zeng would become president should the post be vacated for any reason.
Despite Jiang clinging onto power, delegates sent him a clear message that they did not entirely approve.
More than 200 of the nearly 2,950 delegates voted 'no' or abstained, giving him a rating of just 92.54 percent, a low endorsement where voting by the handpicked parliamentary deputies is generally nearly unanimous.
Zeng faired even worse, with 13 percent of the votes going against him.
In sharp contrast, only four delegates voted against Hu with three abstaining, giving him a 99.76 percent approval rating.
Hu also Sunday retained his post as a vice chairman of the state Central Military Commission, making him the head of state and the country's second ranking military chief.
Hu and Wen are both 60 and were both sent to work in the countryside in the late 1960s, receiving key promotions while working in remote northwestern Gansu province.
And they are both believed to favour prioritising the desperate plight of China's 800 million rural dwellers.
"Apart from Zhu Rongji, he (Wen) has the backing of no other political heavyweight," said Wu Guoguang, a former leading official in Beijing, now with the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
"He is a compromise candidate -- President Jiang Zemin is not against him but Wen is not his protege either."
Both men will have to carefully try to consolidate power while not antagonizing Jiang.
Wen nevertheless is seen as an expert technocrat in rural economy and finance, the very two areas in which China is crying out for massive reforms, and appears to be well liked.