Mr Hu Jintao was named head of China's ruling Communist Party today.
But his authority was undermined as the new leadership was packed with allies of outgoing leader Mr Jiang Zemin.
There were at least six clear Jiang associates in the party's new nine-member Politburo Standing Committee, China's top ruling body, which Mr Hu (59) now leads.
And Mr Jiang (76), who stepped down as party head yesterday and is due to retire as president next spring, hung on to the vital post of military commander-in-chief.
The leadership was announced in the traditional way when Mr Hu led out the new Politburo Standing Committee before the media at Beijing's Great Hall of the People for a quick, well-orchestrated unveiling.
"This is a united, triumphant and highly progressive meeting, as well as a meeting which has carried on the past and opened a new chapter for the future," Mr Hu said.
AFP