CCP takes first step in putting key men in place for the 2022 leadership

BEIJING - A pair of young Turks have snagged pole positions to lead China in 2022, after they were promoted to the Chinese Communist Party's elite Politburo on Thursday.

Inner Mongolia party chief Hu Chunhua and Jilin boss Sun Zhengcai - both 49 years old and seen as the rising stars of the country's sixth-generation leadership - were named to the new 25-member leadership panel, according to an announcement by the official Xinhua news agency.

Other fresh faces include Fujian party chief Sun Chunlan, 62, who joins State Councillor Liu Yandong, 67, as the second woman in the Politburo, ranked just below the apex, seven-member Standing Committee (PSC), which was also unveiled on Thursday.

The Politburo also includes several existing members who missed out on a spot in the PSC. They are Organisation Department head Li Yuanchao, 62, and Guangdong party boss Wang Yang, 57.