Hu Jintao conducted in a fairly orderly and civil manner, which was unprecedented in Communist China's history. This trend is expected to continue and an institutionalized mechanism of power transition is expected to emerge, first perhaps within the CPC. In fact, it has been one of the CPC's stated major goals to create an orderly system of succession and mechanism to prevent informal rule and a cult of personality. The rivalry between Jiang and Hu after Jiang stepped down from his posts was, arguably, an inevitable product of China's tradition of succession. Some analysts argue that although Jiang consolidated power by the
Hu Chunhua leadership. He toed the party line and is seen as a close confidant and loyalist of Hu Jintao. After Xi Jinping assumed leadership of the Communist Party, Hu continued to play a prominent role politically - his record in Guangdong was praised by the central authorities and by Xi personally. There was wide speculation that Hu would advance directly to the Politburo Standing Committee in 2017 and be groomed as a putative successor to the top leadership, but this ultimately did not occur. However, Hu was selected to become Vice-Premier in 2018, continuing to be the youngest leader among the