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DSR 11C
collaborators.
Their association dates back to at least
1949 when both were working in Sichuan, and during his
term as leader of the Communist Youth League before the
Cultural Revolution. Hu will have worked directly under
Deng Xiaoping. Hu was one of Deng's principal advisers on
policy matters during 1975 and shared his disgrace in 1976.
Hu, along with Zhao Ziyang, has been picked out by
Deng Xiaoping to form the nucleus of a collective leadership.
As General Secretary of the Party, Hu is in protocol terms
the most senior figure in the Chinese hierarchy.
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