Pat Dollard

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WSJ
BEIJING—China’s Communist Party appointed Vice President Xi Jinping to a key military post, cementing his status as heir apparent to president and party chief Hu Jintao and removing much of the uncertainty surrounding the country’s leadership succession.

The appointment comes at a pivotal time for China as its economic and military might grows. Many inside and outside the party will now be looking for signals as to whether Mr. Xi stands closer to Premier Wen Jiabao and others who appear to be pushing political reform, or to more conservative leaders, thought to include President Hu.

Mr. Xi, the 57-year-old son of a revolutionary hero, was appointed a vice chairman of the party’s Central Military Commission at a secretive annual party meeting in a hotel in Beijing that ended Monday. The commission controls China’s two-million-strong army and is headed by Mr. Hu, who is due to step down as Communist Party general secretary in 2012 and as president in 2013.