Contemporary China must move more fiercely towards staving off rampant corruption and pollution as it undergoes its rapid economic transformation, President Hu Jintao told 2,200 delegates Monday in Beijing's cavernous Great Hall of the People.

Hu's renewed warning opened the 17th Communist Party congress, a weeklong conclave that will lay out China's national agenda for the leader's next five years in power.

President Hu Jintao, in his address to the 17th Communist Party congress on Monday, lashed out at officials who were extravagant and wasteful.
(Anthony Germain/CBC)

China's fast-changing economy "brings us unprecedented opportunities as well as unprecedented challenges," Hu said during the more than two-hour opening address, which was interspersed with mandatory applause.

In the face of its economic boom, China has been subject to mounting criticism for having some of the world's dirtiest air and water. Although he did not go into specifics, Hu made a broad pledge to "promote a conservation culture" and to form an efficient and "environmentally friendly structure of industries."

He also lashed out at officials who were extravagant and wasteful, adding that unless the government improves the way it combats corruption, the public will believe their government has failed them.

'Preventing corruption'

"Punishing and effectively preventing corruption bears on the popular support of the party and on its very survival," he said, eliciting nods of agreement from the gallery of political elite.

During the address, which was peppered with mentions of "democracy," Hu also made a passing reference to repairing social divisions and cultivating an emerging middle class.

"There are still a considerable number of impoverished and low-income people in both urban and rural areas, and it has become more difficult to accommodate the interests of all sides," he said.

Delegates listen to President Hu Jintao's opening address, which was interspersed with mandatory applause.
(Anthony Germain/CBC)

Without going into specifics, Hu also announced China's goal for the year 2020 was to give its citizens "more extensive democratic rights."

'Changing of the guard'

The congress, which meets every five years, comes amid the challenge of staging the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The congress also renews the leader's tenure for a second five-year term, but analysts said Hu will need to manoeuvre his political allies into top party positions in order to achieve his plans.

Analysts said that many of those key positions are currently occupied by underlings loyal to the Communist party's former chief, who focused more on economic growth, as opposed to Hu's vision for more balanced development.

The CBC's Michel Cormier reported from Beijing that the next week will see "a kind of changing of the guard because what you have now is a lot of the former allies of former president Jiang Zemin from Shanghai — who are really bent on development — kind of running the show."

Cormier said China will be watching to see whether Hu will be able to move more of his own allies — and possibly a successor — into power to promote his belief that China can continue to develop at its booming pace, while also focusing more on social and environmental issues.

With files from the Associated Press