Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang entered the Political Bureau Standing Committee of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Party's top leadership, on Monday.

The four new members were elected at the first plenary session of the 17th CPC Central Committee.

Xi, 54, and Li, 52, serve as Party chiefs in Shanghai and Liaoning respectively.

Xi was a member of the 16th CPC Central Committee and alternate member of the 15th CPC Central Committee.

Li was a member of the 16th and 15th CPC central committees.

He Guoqiang, 63, is head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, and Zhou, 64, is minister of public security.

Both He and Zhou were members of the Political Bureau of the 16th CPC Central Committee since 2002.

Hu Jintao and four other members of the Political Bureau Standing Committee of the 16th CPC Central Committee have been reelected into the nine-member top echelon.

(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2007)