Xi Jinping and Continuing Political Reform in China

Abstract

When Xi Jinping became General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012 he faced the major tasks of fighting corruption, getting beyond the stymied collective leadership of Hu Yaobang, structural reform of the economy, and promoting the rule of law. In his first term Xi has made significant progress in all these areas through his presidential style of leadership, though not without problems. The key task of his likely second term (the 19th Central Committee (CC), 2017–2022) will be to establish a “new normal” of leadership structure and habits that will provide political continuity for a moderately prosperous China and a CPC entering its second century. The changes are foreshadowed in the documents of the Sixth Plenum of the 18th CC released in November 2016.