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In this May 4, 2012 photo, Chinese vice Premier Li Keqiang, center, stands up while Zhou Yongkang, left, and Li Changchun, right, both Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee members, clap at a conference to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of Chinese Communist Youth League at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Xi Jinping, China s vice president, has not been seen in public since Sept. 1, fueling speculation that he suffered a health crisis that forced him to cancel meetings with Hillary Clinton and others. Much attention will likely turn to Executive Vice Premier Li Keqiang, who many had picked as Hu Jintao s preferred successor before Xi emerged in late 2007 as a choice more acceptable to the party s factions.
BEIJING—It should be easy for China's Communist Party to quash the speculation—from plausible to outlandish—about the unexplained absence of the country's next leader: Just trot him out in public to show that he is hale and hearty.

Yet as Xi Jinping's absence carried into an 11th day Wednesday, party officials were saying nothing. Their silence only added to the momentum of the rumors and raised an important question: What happens to China's once-a-decade leadership transition if the 59-year old is unable to assume the mantle of power as planned later this fall?

Xi is China's vice president and has not been seen in public since Sept. 1. Since then, he has missed planned meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other foreign dignitaries.