Timeline: Ten years of China under Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao The party congress to select new leaders will be held on November 8, and is overdue and highly anticipated because it will see Hu Jintao step down after 10 years as party boss and China's leader, to be replaced by Xi Jinping. State media said today that Bo Xilai, who had been a candidate for top office until caught up in a scandal that included a murder, will also face charges for corruption, abuse of power, bribe taking and improper relations with a number of women.