BEIJING (AP) - As Hu Jintao steps down as head of China's Communist Party after 10 years in power, he's hearing something unusual for a Chinese leader: sharp criticism.
Commentators are portraying Hu's reign as a missed opportunity to tackle problems from pollution and a yawning rich-poor gulf to stiffly authoritarian politics.
China is much different than it was when Hu took over in 2002. It's grown to become the world's second-largest economy and per capita income has quintupled.
China's politics, however, remain a world apart. Hu's critics say he and the rest of China's collective leadership have been too timid to change a system that is simmering with conflicts.
Some of the criticisms are designed to influence Xi Jinping, who begins taking over from Hu at a party congress opening Thursday.
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