Understanding the history and cultural background of a country as well as it's various political institutions is important to understanding how it might react to various situations as they occur. As with any political institution the Chinese Communist Party is strongly influenced by its past but it should also be recognized that it has over the last few decades made many changes to it's founding principles in order to adapt to the challenges it faces at home and abroad. Such behavior is symptomatic of an advanced political institution and it is these kind of institutions that have historically lasted longer and ensured relative stability within a country. The problem that you described with cronyism is that it generally requires the maintainance of a status quo in order for it to survive. Steady progress and change away from cronyism is certainly what is required for long term stability of this particular institution. Let's see what happens, as I don't think it would come as much of a surprise to Westerners to hear a politician talking the talk but not necessarily walking the walk. Saying that tackling corruption is a priority doesn't mean that things will change particularly when this speech comes at the end of his political term in office. Such comments could also be seen as being aimed at Bo and his supporters(many of who are still awaiting trial on corruption charges) who are political enemies of the current leadership and by doing this Hu is looking to ensure his political legacy. This kind of infighting also presents a threat to the stability of the party and the country as a whole, particularly given the one party system that you referred to in your post.