Ahead of major political events in China its Communist Party leadership often signals new policies by taking exemplary action against disfavoured party cadres. So it is on the occasion of the lead-in to the important party congress which begins on Friday and will chart the country's strategy for years to come. By expelling the former Beijing party chief, Chen Xitong, and handing him over to prosecutors to face criminal charges for corruption, the leadership is seen to take decisive action against a leading figure of the 19-member Politburo, dispelling rumours that he is too senior to suffer such a fate. Corruption has become a major issue as more and more of China's economy is developed privately, but subject to the regulation of senior party figures. This decision is calculated to highlight the leadership's readiness to confront such issues at the Congress and to encourage popular feeling that it is credible and relevant. By picking on Chen Xitong the leadership is also signalling that the hard line he took against student demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in 1989 may be up for review. This would be timely following the death earlier this year of Deng Xiaoping, who took a similar approach. It is more likely to be incremental than radical, however. Evidence on who will replace the outgoing prime minister, Mr Li Peng, will be closely scrutinised at the congress. There have been many indications that his successor will be more decisively in favour of China's economic reform programmes than he - and perhaps more ready to contemplate political reforms.
Corruption is becoming a real block on the road to economic reform. It illustrates very well the need to move decisively towards more effective legal and administrative systems containing more due process in handling the momentous changes under way in China. The need for political reforms arises from this in many of the most developed provinces. The congress will also be scrutinised closely for evidence on future relations between richer and poorer provinces and the central government in Beijing. Decentralisation of power has coincided with China's economic development, putting pressure on the mechanics and legitimacy of central government control. The Communist Party plays a crucial role in mediating economic development and central political control; but if it is tainted with the odour of corruption it becomes less effective at doing this - and tempted to become more authoritarian in its exercise of power. There has been a number of signs that more open discussion of these issues will be tolerated in the ruling party and the media. Several public calls for more radical political reforms have been tolerated recently. There have been trenchant criticisms of corruption at national parliamentary meetings which previously were much more compliant instruments of party control. It would be surprising indeed if this party meeting were not to address such questions. They will be increasingly relevant as China comes to terms with the dramatic pace of its development in coming years.