Flag raising in Tiananmen Square

A flag-raising ceremony was held at Tiananmen Square on Thursday ahead of the naming of the country's new leader and the announcement of the members of Politburo Standing Committee, China's apex of power.

The ceremony came a day after Chinese President Hu Jintao stepped aside as ruling party leader, to clear the way for what is only the second orderly transfer of power in sixty three years of Communist rule.

Current Vice President Xi Jinping is widely expected to be the new leader of China, leading the world's second largest economy and newest diplomatic and military power amid increasingly vocal calls for economic and political reform.

Delegates said they cheered when the announced results of secret balloting showed that Xi had been unanimously chosen for the committee, a step toward being named to the topmost panel, the Politburo Standing Committee, and becoming party leader on Thursday.

Xi is the son of a party elder and has served as vice president for the past five years.

The new Chinese leader will face slowing growth, rising unrest among increasingly assertive citizens and delicate relations with neighbouring countries.

The secretive week long congress in Beijing ended on Wednesday after the 2,200-plus delegates selected members of the Central Committee, a body that approves leadership positions and policy goals.

The committee currently has nine members but may be reduced to seven.