(CNN) – China unveiled the elite group of seven who will set the agenda for the next decade. Leading the group: Xi Jinping, now the nation's most powerful man.

Now that China’s Communist Party has officially put its stamp on its new leaders, political scientist Willy Lam offers this analysis:

“By and large, we have a conservative team,” Lam told CNN. “We can expect no substantial or meaningful movement toward political reform, in favor of staying the course, maintaining political stability and defusing challenges to the party’s authority.”

Reformers are concerned that two protégés of former President Hu Jintao – Liu Yuanchao and Wang Yang – weren’t selected. “Liu and Wang were considered to be pro-reform, so for those hoping for reform this is quite a disappointment,” Lam said.

The promotion of Liu Yunshan, former head of China’s Propaganda Department, to the Committee means “we can expect tighter control of the internet and more repressive movement on speech,” Lam said. “He’s an arch-conservative … so this is a big disappointment for China’s intellectual community.”

China's new leadership

On the economic front, however, the ascendancy of Xi and Li Keqiang as president and premier, respectively, suggests financial reforms will continue, Wang said. “They are known supporters of economic reform, so we may have movement on liberalization of the RMB, allowing more foreign companies into the financial services sector,” he said. “They may give more support to private enterprise … so there may be more of a level playing field between them and (state-owned companies).”