There has long been debate about what is the right number of seats on the Politburo Standing Committee, and some sources say the leadership has recently reached a consensus on reducing this from nine to seven.
Cheng Li, from the Brookings Institution, said the number of seats on the committee could very well change, as the party constitution did not specify a fixed number.
The committee that was formed at the 12th and 13th party congresses in 1982 and 1987 had only six members, while that formed at the 14th and 15th party congresses in 1992 and 1997 had seven. Since the 16th party congress in 2002, it has had nine.
Changes in the number of members more often reflect the horse trading for power among factions, rather than any changes in social or economic conditions that require a reshuffling of portfolios.
Recent reports have said that the number of committee members would be cut from nine to seven, so that decisions and polices could be 'implemented faster and better'. Analysts believe that such a change would strengthen party general secretary Hu Jintao's influence after his retirement.
Reports before the 16th party congress in 2002 said it was outgoing party chief Jiang Zemin who added two extra members, pushing for the appointment of Li Changchun as propaganda tsar, and for Luo Gan as internal security chief, to continue Jiang's legacy of persecuting the Falun Gong spiritual movement.
If the number of committee members has been cut to seven, then it should be back to what it was before 2002's 16th party congress, which might suggest scrapping the seats now reserved for the country's propaganda and internal security chiefs.