The party is set to formally unveil its new generation of top leaders during the meeting.
The weeklong Congress is held once every five years and chooses members for the State Council and the Politburo – the party’s two most powerful bodies – every 10 years.
Most analysts expect Vice President Xi Jinping and First Vice Premier Li Keqiang to be promoted to the CCP’s top posts, although the selection process is shrouded in secrecy.
Xi is expected to become the party’s next general secretary before taking over the presidency in March 2013. Li is expected to become pemier, taking over from the popular Wen Jiabao.
More than 2,200 delegates are expected to gather in Beijing for the meeting of the party that controls the world’s second-biggest economy.
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