The Communist Party of China (CPC) will appoint younger and better educated county heads in a new round of power shuffling due this year to consolidate its ruling power at the grassroots level.

The young cadres, around the age of 45 and all holding bachelor's or more advanced degrees, will become secretaries of CPC county committees, or county-level Party chiefs, in China's 2,861 counties for five-year terms of office.

Along with the appointment of new county Party chiefs, heads of county governments will also be elected this year and in early 2007, according to a schedule made by the National People's Congress in March 2005.

"We should carefully test possible candidates before they replace the current leaders," He Guoqiang, head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, said in a recent speech.

The organization department has issued a document requiring that new county heads, both Party chiefs and county magistrates, selected should be around 45 and at least have a bachelor's degree to ensure the new grassroots leadership is capable of leading the nation for another five years of rapid but sustainable development.

They argue that candidates meeting these standards have a better chance of promotion, though another clause in the document states "other experienced cadres also have the possibility."

A deputy county head from northeast China's Liaoning province said in an interview with Xinhua that he "worries" about his career prospects since he is already 49.

"The chance is slim for me to be promoted," he said.

However, ability is more important, said Wang Changjiang, professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

"In terms of political structure, the county is an important base for economic development, social progress and political stability," he said."The ability to solve social problems has become another important criterion for the selection of county heads."

China is witnessing many new social problems result from factors like the widening income gap between Chinese people in these years. "It is against this backdrop the document was issued, " he said.

Before the Fourth Plenum of the 16th CPC Central Committee was held in September 2004, a survey by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee showed that 35.7 percent of officials above the county level confessed they are "not competent enough to solve complicated problems."

The organization department will also take specific measures to prevent officials from seeking promotion through what it calls "irregular approaches", such as bribery.

In 2005, 334 officials were punished for seeking promotion illegally.

Source: Xinhua