Xi’s Confidence Game

Rather than reflecting insecurity, Xi’s recent impatience is better understood as driven by the view that China has a temporary window to address domestic headwinds and bolster its position and power in the international order. It is not fear of the party’s collapse that motivates him but a determination to see China claim its rightful global position at a […]

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All Of Vietnam’s Power Is In Trong’s Hands

Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is set to assume the presidency, an unprecedented consolidation of power that could make him the Xi Jinping of Vietnam…Now, Vietnam appears to be moving in the same direction as China, raising the possibility that the consensus-based decision-making structure – the foundation on which the Communist Party has […]

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What a Buddhist Monk Taught Xi Jinping

As an organization that has tried to squelch religion, the Communist Party under Mr. Xi is now backing it in ways that echo the approach of strongmen like Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who use faith to legitimize their rule. Faced with growing social tensions and slowing economic growth, the government is turning to religion […]

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China’s Weapons Of Trade War

China exports more to the US than the US exports to China, and that makes Donald Trump furious. But with the Communist Party’s 19th Congress set to take place in Beijing this year, Chinese leaders are unlikely to yield to US pressure. Read Here – Project Syndicate

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Xi’s Wise Men

Past Chinese presidents have left the finer points of the economy to their premiers. Not Xi Jinping.  Since taking over the ruling Communist Party in November 2012, Xi has given himself direct control over both short-term financial policies and broader economic planning. He exercises this power through two secretive “leading groups,” one a reform panel […]

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The Limits of Chinese Soft Power

China has been making major efforts to increase its ability to influence other countries without force or coercion. In 2007, then-President Hu Jintao told the Communist Party that the country needed to increase its soft power; President Xi Jinping repeated the same message last year. They know that, for a country like China, whose growing […]

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Is Xi Another Gorbachev?

The Chinese leaders see no contradiction between economic and social liberalization on the one hand and more political control on the other. In fact, in their minds, the latter is the condition for the former. Lightening up and tightening up are two sides of the same coin. Read Here – Bloomberg

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