The 17th CPC National Congress gets underway in Beijing

The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the most important political event to take place in five years, opened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday morning.

The main task of the meeting is to decide on China's policies for the coming five years and elect the Party's 17th Central Committee, which will decide the CPC's new leadership lineup. A new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection will also be elected.

Zeng Qinghong, 68, was appointed secretary-general of the congress at a preparatory meeting on Sunday. Liu Yunshan, Zhou Yongkang, He Guoqiang and Wang Gang were selected as deputy secretary-generals.

China has experienced an extraordinary period over the last five years, President and Party leader Hu Jintao said in a report recapping the country's development under the 11th Five-Year Plan.

Hu said that China's economic strength increased substantially, with the GDP expanding by an annual average rate of over 10 percent. Major breakthroughs were made in reform and opening up, and the new subsistence allowance system has helped improve the lives of the country's poor in both urban and rural areas.

Significant steps also were taken in improving democracy and the country's legal system, and "the new undertaking to build the Party achieved solid progress," Xinhua quoted Hu as saying.

The past five years have also seen historic changes take place in the development of national defense, Hu said.

Despite all the progress, Hu acknowledged that a host of problems await solutions, including the high toll economic growth is having on the environment, the development gap between urban and rural areas, ensuring the livelihood of farmers, as well as problems related to education, employment and social security. Hu also said the governance capability of the Party does not match the demands placed on it by the present situation and the growing number of new challenges. He also said that a small number of Party cadres are still struggling with problems of corruption and wastefulness.

As for the future, Hu said that one of the main goals is to build a "moderately prosperous society," which means quadrupling the country's year 2000 per capita gross domestic product by 2020. "The speech was long but short on specifics," the BBC notes.

According to the BBC, President Hu might use the congress to nominate a possible successor to take over from him in 2012. Many have put their money on regional party chief Li Keqiangin succeeding Hu.

More than 2,000 delegates are taking part in this year's National Congress, which will run until next Sunday.

To listen to President Hu Jintao's entire opening speech, please click here.