This means that he'll be ineligible to sit on the Standing Committee of the Politburo, the party's most powerful decision-making body. Li had already announced that he would not run again at the annual meeting of the People's Congress in March after two terms in office. Speculation was rife, however, that he might become the head, or speaker, of parliament, which would effectively have make him the second most powerful political actor after Communist Party general secretary and President Xi Jinping. The current speaker, Li Zhanshu, was also not listed among the new members of the Communist Party's Central Committee. The body will meet for a first plenary session on Sunday to approve the new Politburo and its Standing Committee. It's also expected to confirm Xi as the party's general secretary for a rare third term, disregarding traditionally respected age and term limits.