China Policy Institute Blog
The Xi-Obama Summit: Much Ado About Very Little
June 10, 2013
Written by June Teufel Dreyer For a summit billed as informal—for any summit, for that matter—the Xi-Obama meeting generated an extraordinary amount of media attention. Speculation abounded over peripheral issues: why was the meeting being held in California rather than in the nation’s capital? Why did First Lady Michelle Obama not plan to attend, even …
The Folly of a cross-Strait “China Dream”
April 11, 2013
Written by Russell Hsiao. The pace and scope of dialogue across the Taiwan Strait have expanded considerably since Ma Ying-jeou became the President of the Republic of China (ROC) in 2008. These dialogues, led by non-governmental organizations, business and cultural associations, and political parties, have served as the main channels through which the two governments on both …
On an even-keel? Cross-Strait Relations in Ma’s Second Term
March 28, 2013
By Steve Tsang. In terms of cross-Strait relations, President Ma Ying-jeou’s second term did not really start last year when he assumed office. It has only just begun. The real change that drives the relationship does not happen in Taipei but in Beijing. The break came with Xi Jinping’s assumption of all three top offices …
The Honeymoon now begins to end
March 15, 2013
By Zhengxu Wang. The new batch of Party leaders is now officially the new cohort of state leaders. At the Lianghui sessions during the last two days, Xi Jinping and other members of the Politburo Standing Committee were “elected” into state offices. As expected, Xi was elected the President, while Li Keqiang was elected Premier. …
BRICS and Mortar
March 13, 2013
By Lauren Johnston. With Xi Jinping assuming the role of President of China, China’s international ascent has a new face. Gone are the more autocratic and stiff character associations of former President Hu Jintao. Xi, like the country itself, is likely to walk taller and more comfortably on the international stage. Xi’s first international visit, …
Reflections on China’s 12th NPC
March 12, 2013
By Lowell Dittmer. Somewhat like Western democracies, the institutionalization of China’s “People’s Democratic Dictatorship” since the advent of “reform and opening” in December 1978 (i.e. cadre tenure rules, regularly scheduled meeting sessions), Chinas “resilient authoritarianism” has become the focus of public expectations—both hopes and fears—for change among China’s rising civil society. These expectations can now …
The Real Numbers Behind the NPC
March 8, 2013
By Kerry Brown. Seven, seven and a half, ninety and 100 billion. What do these four figures have in common? They are all part of the story of the Chinese leadership transition. Seven, as we now know well, was the number of the standing committee revealed last November, surprising many in the way it reduced …
Xi Jinping: The Challenge Awaits
March 5, 2013
By Shaun Breslin. Xi Jinping’s tenure as China’s top leader began with might call a stage of symbols and signposts – an attempt to give indications of the main thrusts of policy under his leadership. Making his first trip as leader to the south in an echo of Deng’s南巡 in 1992 (which has become the …
The certain future
March 4, 2013
By David S G Goodman. In Chinese culture unlike in the Anglo-world the future is always behind one’s head, not in front, because it is unknown – it has not yet been seen and experienced. For the Chinese Party-state as it undergoes its current leadership change there are many senses of a more certain future. …
Reforms and Restructuring at the NPC Session: Managing Expectations
March 3, 2013
By Zhengxu Wang. This year’s Lianghui, the National People’s Congress (NPC) and People’s Political Consultative Conference (PPCC), is important in the sense that a new government will be “sworn in”. Following last November’s Party Congress, the Premier-in-waiting will be confirmed at the NPC session. He will take up his position together with a whole new …
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