Xi Jinping has been named the new leader of China, taking over as general secretary of the country's ruling Communist Party and chair of its powerful military commission.
Vice President Xi, who was long expected to take control of the party from outgoing President Hu Jintao, strode onto the red carpet in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Wednesday along with six other members of China's new elite leadership.
Xi, who will take over as president in March, said in a speech broadcast live on state television that the new leaders face "enormous responsibility" but would fight for a better life for China's 1.3 billion people.
"Our responsibility is to rally and lead the whole party and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in continuing to liberate our way of thinking, carry on reform and opening up, further unleash and develop the productive forces, work hard to resolve the difficulties the people face in both work and life, and steadfastly take the road of prosperity for all," he said.
The son of a revered revolutionary leader, the 59-year-old leader takes control of the world's second biggest economy at a time of major challenges, including slowing economic growth and widening public anger at government corruption.
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Xi was joined on stage by the other members of the Politburo Standing Committee, China's most powerful decision-making body. They include premier-in-waiting Li Keqiang, North Korean-trained economist Zhang Dejiang, propaganda chief Liu Yunshan, Vice Premier Wang Qishan, Shanghai party boss Yu Zhengsheng and Tanjian party boss Zhang Gaoli.
The unveiling of of the new Standing Committee revealed the long-awaited outcome of a secretive process in which China's main power brokers jockeyed to secure senior positions for themselves and their allies.
Scott Kennedy of Indiana University's Research Center for Chinese Politics and Business says that at least some of the leaders are open to reform.
"None of them jumps out as an obvious highly conservative individual on policy points, but none of them stand out as real radical reformers, either. I do think Li Keqiang has shown somewhat over the past year to be relatively progressive. And certainly Wang Qishan, who looks like he's going to head Central Discipline and Inspection Affairs, is also a noted reformer," he said.
Others say the lineup is heavy on conservatives, suggesting the leaders will be reluctant to significantly liberalize China's authoritarian government.
But David Kelly, research director at the Beijing-based China Policy organization, warns against too much speculation.
"There's a lot of people now reading into these names, they're going back and seeing what their service record was in the provinces when they were provincial party secretaries. In my opinion, it's very easy to over-read read this, because things happen on their watch, but it might not really be an index of who or what they do now," he said.
Kelly says any major policy changes would probably not come for a year or two, until the new leaders are able to solidify their grip on power.
As many expected, the number of members on the Standing Committee was reduced from nine to seven. Steve Lewis, a China analyst from Rice University, says that this is significant.
"Since the Standing Committee supposedly have veto power on major decisions, this will make it easier for them to come to a consensus, and that's probably why they decided to shorten it," he said.
The lead-up to the transition was overshadowed by a scandal involving senior politician Bo Xilai, who is under investigation for covering up his wife's murder of a British businessman. Bo, a former Politburo member, had been expected to take a top spot at the leadership transition.
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