BEIJING, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Chinese leaders have ruled out any hint of veering toward western democracy as they prepare for the country's most important political meeting in five years.
China believes in advancing political reform but will "never copy the western model" of a multi-party democracy, party spokesman Li Dongsheng told CNN Sunday on the eve of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
The Congress is to elect political leaders, who will be influential for years to come, from a list approved by the party's political bureau, China's official Xinhua news agency reported Sunday.
Delegates are to hear from Chinese President Hu Jintao, who also is the party's general secretary, about striving for economic development that eases pollution and slows a widening wealth gap between rich and poor, CNN reported.
