Still, when the party’s congress closes next week, world economic leaders may glean some clues about China’s direction depending on who is named to the Politburo Standing Committee, the seven-person group that makes its top decisions.

Should Mr. Wang be named to the committee, that could suggest a slightly greater emphasis over the next five years on economic reform, such as giving private enterprise more freedom or curbing dependence on state-directed lending.

But the party could send a different signal if it appoints Chen Min’er, the party boss of the less developed province of Guizhou. Mr. Chen’s development strategy there relied on building lots of tall bridges, a giant telescope and other government-led projects, as well as using official influence to help persuade large companies like Apple and Oracle to locate extensive data centers there.

One other possible new member, experts say, is Hu Chunhua, who succeeded Mr. Wang as Guangdong’s party boss. Mr. Hu has a much more cautious reputation on economic changes than does Mr. Wang, though he allowed many of Mr. Wang’s policies to continue. Outside of economics, Mr. Hu has taken a much tougher approach to dissent, crushing an experiment in democracy in a Guangdong village called Wukan that Mr. Wang had tolerated.

The last party congress, five years ago, offered a hint of China’s debt-fueled approach under Mr. Xi.

Joining him then on the standing committee was Zhang Gaoli, who ran the large metropolis of Tianjin. Mr. Zhang was best known for leading a government effort to build a “New Manhattan” — a forest of immense office towers and apartment buildings far from downtown Tianjin, erected in the hope of creating a new financial center. The vast satellite city has begun attracting some residents in recent years but has yet to turn into a financial hub.

By contrast, Mr. Wang was the mayor of an obscure town in south-central China, Tongling, when he wrote a pro-reform essay in 1991 for a local newspaper. The essay — with lines like “History will never allow us to slumber on” — set off a lengthy discussion in Chinese newspapers, giving him a national reputation at the age of 36.