Political Reform in China: Preview of the 20th National Party Congress

Oct. 17, 2022

The Chinese Communist Party’s 20th National Party Congress will commence in Beijing on October 16, 2022. As the convening nears, the party is approaching a historic moment. Its general secretary, President Xi Jinping, will assume an unprecedented third five-year term as top leader — making him the longest-serving leader since party founder Mao Zedong 50 years ago. Still, Xi and the party face unparalleled challenges: They must deal with an increasingly unpopular zero-COVID policy, one that threatens China’s position as the economic powerhouse of the global supply chain economy. Xi must also try to address the flight of the middle class from Hong Kong, the persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, a defiant Taiwan, and more and more of its neighbors and the West opposing its expansion into the Indo-Pacific. Meanwhile, China’s once relatively amicable relationship with the U.S. has deteriorated into an unpredictable trade war that threatens to end the free flow of people, ideas, capital and technology between the world’s two largest markets.

Guests joined the Baker Institute China Studies Program for an expert panel discussion about the current state of reforms in China as well as U.S.-China relations. The event was free and open to the public.

Participants
Carrie Liu Currier, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Political Science Department Chair, Texas Christian University

Steven W. Lewis, Ph.D.
C.V. Starr Transnational China Fellow, Baker Institute

Brandon Zheng
Research Associate, China Studies Program, Baker Institute

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