Disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai heads new party

Bo Xilai was jailed for life in September (Getty)

Supporters of the disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai have defied a decades-old de facto ban and created a new party with the former rising star of the Communists at its head.

As the 205 members of the Communist Party's central committee gathered yesterday for their secretive full meeting, it emerged that allies of the jailed politician had set up the Zhi Xian Party, or the "constitution is the supreme authority" party.

Bo has reportedly been named the group's "chairman for life". Wang Zheng, one of the party's founders and a professor at the Beijing Institute of Economics, told Reuters the party's creation was "legal and reasonable".

At this weekend's meeting, China's leaders are under pressure to overhaul an economic model that has run out of steam after decades of rapid growth.