THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Xi Jinping, center, Li Keqiang, third from right, and members of the new Standing Committee at Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Nov. 15 (The Asahi Shimbun)
BEIJING -- Xi Jinping succeeded Hu Jintao as China's leader on Nov. 15, assuming the top posts in the Communist Party and the powerful military in a once-a-decade political transition unbowed by scandals, a slower economy and public demands for reforms.