Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- Well that 's that . After one week of mingling with elite Party loyalists , China 's Communist leaders have wrapped up their 18th National Congress . The next will be in five years time when the presumptive new president -- Xi Jinping -- delivers his thoughts on the challenges , ambitions and threats facing the world 's most populous country . Read our live blog for the latest on China 's new leaders . His predecessor Hu Jintao fired a flare on the first day of the Congress about the threat of corruption and its power to potentially bring down China 's Communist regime . `` If we fail to handle this issue well , it could prove fatal to the party , and even cause the collapse of the party and the fall of the state , '' he told delegates . China 's next leaders : Who 's who . CNN asked five experts to explain what they see to be China 's most pressing challenge . It 's by no means a complete list , presented in no particular order . 1 . Factional divisions . Plenty of analysis has accompanied this year 's Congress as to the fine -- and not so fine -- lines that split the ideologies and loyalties of the members of the Politburo Standing Committee . But will any fracture lines be enough to tilt the Party towards reform ? China commentator Willy Lam weighs in , noting that `` even before the birth of the People 's Republic in 1949 , factions within the party had fought over the future direction of the country . '' The `` struggle between two lines '' during Mao 's rule has morphed into divisions according to family ties to revolutionary leaders and guidance from powerful mentors . `` Since the early 1990s , three major factions have emerged within the party : the Shanghai faction led by ex-president Jiang Zemin , the Communist Youth League ( CYL ) faction led by President Hu Jintao , and the `` Gang of Princelings '' -- a reference to the offspring of party elders -- led by president-in-waiting Xi Jinping . What 's the potential for one to win out ? Lam explains . 2 . More spending , less saving . In 2011 , a team of researchers led by economist Li Gan started asking questions to compile the most comprehensive study so far of household wealth in China . They found that the top 10 % of income earners are sitting on most of the wealth . The low savings rate of most Chinese households surveyed suggest they simply do n't have the money to spend . To move toward a consumer-based economy , therefore , raising the income -- and spending -- levels for the poor is key . Gan explains here what China needs to do . 3 . Pouring water on disputes . Do n't expect China to turn the other cheek when it comes to regional disputes , writes Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt from International Crisis Group . `` Beijing is keen to prevent the world from concluding that China has discarded the notion of a peaceful rise , '' Kleine-Ahlbrandt writes . She says China 's going down the path of `` reactive assertiveness . '' One example is China 's attitude in response to Japan 's purchase of islands disputed by both countries in the East China Sea . Find out whether Kleine-Ahlbrandt thinks the country 's new leaders are likely to change tact . 4 . Too many men . Faced with a surging population , China attempted to put the brakes on procreation in the late 1970s by implementing a controversial policy limiting couples in some areas to just one child . Since then , a cultural bias towards male children has led to a skewed child sex ratio where millions of men , or `` bare branches '' face an uncertain future due to the lack of potential female partners , writes evolutionary biologist Rob Brooks . `` It would be difficult to overstate the urgent need for China to emulate South Korea in eliminating sex-biased abortion and neglect , '' Brooks writes . Studies show , he says , what can happen if it does n't . 5 . Learning the three Rs . The legacy of China 's powerhouse of cheap , labor-intensive exports is a natural environment tainted by the pollutants of economic growth . Author Geoff Hiscock says securing the food , water and air security of China 's 1.35 billion people is one of the leadership 's biggest challenges . `` Beijing and other parts of northeastern China are already water-stressed , the air quality in inland mega-cities such as Chongqing and Chengdu is abysmal , farming land is being poisoned by toxic runoff from mining and industrial activities , acid rain blights large parts of south China , contagious disease is an ever-present risk among its livestock , and unscrupulous makers sell tainted foodstuffs , '' Hiscock writes . So what can China do about it ? More from Hiscock . CNN 's Kevin Voigt and Paul Armstrong contributed to this report .
Experts explain what they think is China 's biggest challenge . Economist Li Gan stresses the country 's need to get the poor spending . Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt from International Crisis Group writes on China 's foreign policy . Issues of too many men , sustainable growth and factional splits are said to be issues .