TIANJIN - China's next generation of leaders will have to continue leadership reforms to facilitate the country's future development, according to observers at the ongoing Summer Davos forum.

Orville Schell, director of the Center on US-China Relations under the New York-based Asia Society, said the ruling pattern in China has evolved since the death of Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.

Although some countries have complimented China's efficiency in decisionmaking under the current collective leadership, it is still hard to tell where the Chinese leadership will go after the upcoming power transition, Schell said at the Wednesday session of the three-day Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, which is being held in north China's port city of Tianjin.

The 18th national congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which is scheduled for the latter half of the year, will result in the creation of a new CPC Central Committee, including a Standing Committee for its powerful Political Bureau.

Many of China's top leaders are expected to step down next year, with lawmakers voting for the next president and premier during a parliamentary session to be held next March.

Fu Jun, executive dean and professor at the School of Government at Peking University, said that while China's leadership style has become more professional, it still needs more institutional buildup.

Haiyan Wang, founder of the China India Institute, said China's leaders have become more cooperative, a feature that will be necessary for the country's future development.

New leaders will have to facilitate more innovation and creativity, Wang said.

Bai Tongdong, a professor of philosophy at Shanghai's Fudan University, said the country's rulers should represent a wider range of interests.

Schell said future challenges will require a higher level of leadership in China, a view echoed by many forum participants.

China's economy is in a phase where problems with capital must be addressed, according to Arvind Subramanian, a senior fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics and author of "Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China's Economic Dominance."

Subramanian noted that policies regarding credit, subsidies, state-owned enterprises and banks will all depend on future political reforms.

China has to make changes to maintain the foundation of its government or it may face the risk of social or political turbulence, Subramanian said.

Wang said enhanced transparency will be necessary for future leaders.

Kai-Fu Lee, chairman and chief executive officer of Innovation Works Management, noted the role of social media in China's leadership reforms, as the medium has been used by Chinese leaders to obtain public opinions on social issues.

Leaders who wish to battle vested interest groups that have blocked their reforms should use social networking to get more public support, Subramanian said.