Freeman Chair Analysis of Xi Jinping During His First Term

Dear Friends:
 
Given the impending opening of the 19th Party Congress, we thought it would be helpful to share with you analysis we’ve conducted since late 2012 of China’s leadership politics and key policy areas. As you can see, China has been keeping us busy. Xi Jinping’s first term was anything but predictable and straightforward. Just as many China specialists had settled into a view of governance that was institutionalized, collective, and incrementalist, actual practice under Xi has looked decidedly different from this picture. We hope that our analysis reflects a willingness to be open to what we see occurring in China, not what we are used to seeing or what we want to see. We look forward to having China continue to test our skills of observation and analysis during the next five years. As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions.
 
Cheers,
Chris, Scott & the entire Freeman Chair Team

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2017
 

• Christopher K. Johnson, “Chinese Politics Has No Rules, But It May Be Good if Xi Jinping Breaks Them,” CSIS Report, August 9, 2017

2016

• Will Johnson, “Chinese Provincial Reshuffling about Elite Politics & Xi’s Power, Not Anti-corruption Campaign,” CSIS cogitASIA Blog, November 14, 2016
• Christopher K. Johnson and Scott Kennedy, “Now China’s ‘Core’ Leader, Xi Jinping Looks to Dominate Leadership Shuffle,” CSIS Critical Questions, October 28, 2016
• Christopher K. Johnson, “Reshaping China’s ‘Deep State’: President Xi’s Assault on China’s Security Services: Grasping Tightly the Key Levers of Power,” MERICS Paper on China No. 1,  June 2016
• “China’s 13th Five-Year Plan: Q&A with Scott Kennedy and Christopher K. Johnson,” Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2016
• Scott Kennedy and Christopher K. Johnson, “Perfecting China, Inc.,” CSIS Report, May 2016
• Christopher K. Johnson, “President Xi’s ‘Belt & Road’ Initiative,” CSIS Report, March 28, 2016

2015

• Christopher K. Johnson, “Reform Cold, Politics Hot: President Xi Jinping at Mid-Term,” CSIS Report, November 16, 2015
• Christopher K. Johnson and Scott Kennedy, “China’s Fifth Plenum Yields More Questions than Answers,” CSIS Critical Questions, November 2, 2015
• Scott Kennedy, “Xi’s Seattle Stop Sets Up His D.C. Drop In,” CSIS Commentary, September 23, 2015
• “Q&A: Christopher K. Johnson on the Heavy Thumb of Xi Jinping,” The New York Times, July 28, 2015
• Christopher K. Johnson and Scott Kennedy, “China's Un-Separation of Powers,” Foreign Affairs, July 24, 2015
• “The Leaderboard: Wang Qishan,” CSIS cogitASIA, April 16, 2015

2014

• Christopher K. Johnson, “Xi Jinping Unveils His Foreign Policy Vision,” CSIS Thoughts from the Chairman Newsletter, December 8, 2014
• Christopher K. Johnson, “Xi Bags High-Level Military “Tiger” Amid Deepening Corruption Crackdown,” CSIS Critical Questions, June 30, 2014
• Christopher K. Johnson, “Decoding China’s Emerging ‘Great Power’ Strategy in Asia,” CSIS Report, June 11, 2014.

2013

• Scott Kennedy, “China’s Third Plenum Communiqué Moves from Nouns to Adjectives,” East Asia Forum, November 18, 2013
• Christopher K. Johnson, “China Announces Sweeping Reform Agenda at Plenum,” CSIS Critical Questions, November 15, 2013
• Christopher K. Johnson, “China's Third Plenum: Go Big or Go Home?” CSIS Thoughts from the Chairman Newsletter, October 31, 2013
• Christopher K. Johnson, “Xi Looking Strong, Determined Heading to the Beach,” CSIS Thoughts from the Chairman Newsletter, July 31, 2013
• Christopher K. Johnson, “Strong Political Crosscurrents in Beijing Sharpening Focus on Fall Plenum,” CSIS Thoughts from the Chairman Newsletter, May 31, 2013
• Scott Kennedy, “Government Restructuring: Reform Sails Against The Wind,” GK Dragonomics China Policy Watch Series, May 2, 2013 [PDF only]
• Christopher K. Johnson, “China's National People's Congress: A Satisfying End and an Uncertain Beginning,” CSIS Thoughts from the Chairman Newsletter, March 29, 2013 (Link)
• Christopher K. Johnson, “Analyzing Wen’s Work Report at China’s 12th National People’s Congress,” CSIS cogitASIA, March 7, 2013
• Christopher K. Johnson, “China Convenes the 12th National People’s Congress,” CSIS Critical Questions, March 5, 2013
• Christopher K. Johnson, “Xi's Plea for 2013: ‘Cross the River by Feeling the Stones’,” CSIS Thoughts from the Chairman Newsletter, January 31, 2013 

2012

• Christopher K. Johnson, “All Eyes on Xi as China's New Leaders Take Power,” CSIS Freeman Report Newsletter, November 30, 2012
• Scott Kennedy, “Leadership Transition: The Chance for Change,” GK Dragonomics China Policy Watch Series, June 25, 2012 [PDF only]
• Christopher K. Johnson, “Chinese Communist Party Convenes the 18th Party Congress,” CSIS Critical Questions, November 8, 2012