China's next leader takes swipe at Bo Xilai

The man widely tipped to take over as China's next leader has taken a swipe at Bo Xilai, the fallen politician at the centre of the Neil Heywood scandal, by hitting out at "pleasure-seeking" party chiefs.

Xi Jinping criticised politicians who have abandoned Communist ideals and fallen into an "abyss of luxury and corruption".

In a recent speech, reproduced this week in the Qiushi Journal, an official policy magazine controlled by China's Communist Party, the country's current vice-president, Jinping, said not staying "in close contact with the people" would lead to "frustration and failure".

"It should be noted that there are indeed some party members and cadres who have spent lavishly, developing a taste for extravagance and luxury, pursuing personal political performance and individual pleasure," Xi said, according to the magazine.

"Some party members and cadres are even indulging in feasting and pleasure-seeking, and have consequently fallen into the abyss of luxury and corruption. The lessons are profound," he added.

Xi's comments were interpreted as a clear swipe at the disgraced politician Bo Xilai, whose wife has been accused of channelling billions of dollars out of China as well as the suspected murder of the British businessman, Neil Heywood.

The fallout from Heywood's murder and Bo's political demise has triggered speculation that the once-in-a-decade leadership transition, scheduled for this autumn, could be delayed.

But with Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, expected to go on trial for Heywood's alleged murder later this month, many believe China's leaders will now push ahead with the 18th Party Congress where Xi is expected to be confirmed as the country's new leader.

"I have not yet any reason to believe that the Congress will be delayed beyond the end of this year," said Steve Tsang, the director of the University of Nottingham's China Policy Institute.

Prof Tsang said the failure to announce exact dates for the congress was likely the result of an ongoing jostle for political power, triggered by the downfall of Bo, who was once tipped to assume a coveted position on the powerful Politburo standing committee.

"I think the repositioning of the two power blocs is real and is going on [now] which is why the date for the Congress has not been announced yet. We would normally have heard by now roughly when the conference would be.

"We haven't heard and this suggests that the top leadership has not fully agreed on what is going to happen. They don't want to say anything about the party conference until they know what is going to happen. It is too important," he said.