Skip to main content
  • Sections
  • Search

Center for Strategic & International Studies

User menu

  • Subscribe
  • Sign In

Topics

  • Climate Change
  • Cybersecurity and Technology
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Governance
    • Intellectual Property
    • Intelligence, Surveillance, and Privacy
    • Military Technology
    • Space
    • Technology and Innovation
  • Defense and Security
    • Counterterrorism and Homeland Security
    • Defense Budget
    • Defense Industry, Acquisition, and Innovation
    • Defense Strategy and Capabilities
    • Geopolitics and International Security
    • Long-Term Futures
    • Missile Defense
    • Space
    • Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation
  • Economics
    • Asian Economics
    • Global Economic Governance
    • Trade and International Business
  • Energy and Sustainability
    • Energy, Climate Change, and Environmental Impacts
    • Energy and Geopolitics
    • Energy Innovation
    • Energy Markets, Trends, and Outlooks
  • Global Health
    • Family Planning, Maternal and Child Health, and Immunizations
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • Health and Security
    • Infectious Disease
  • Human Rights
    • Building Sustainable and Inclusive Democracy
    • Business and Human Rights
    • Responding to Egregious Human Rights Abuses
    • Civil Society
    • Transitional Justice
    • Human Security
  • International Development
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Governance and Rule of Law
    • Humanitarian Assistance
    • Human Mobility
    • Private Sector Development
    • U.S. Development Policy

Regions

  • Africa
    • North Africa
    • Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Americas
    • Caribbean
    • North America
    • South America
  • Arctic
  • Asia
    • Afghanistan
    • Australia, New Zealand & Pacific
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • Korea
    • Pakistan
    • Southeast Asia
  • Europe
    • European Union
    • NATO
    • Post-Soviet Europe
    • Turkey
  • Middle East
    • The Gulf
    • Egypt and the Levant
    • North Africa
  • Russia and Eurasia
    • The South Caucasus
    • Central Asia
    • Post-Soviet Europe
    • Russia

Sections menu

  • Programs
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Analysis
    • Blogs
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Congressional Testimony
    • Critical Questions
    • Interactive Reports
    • Journals
    • Newsletter
    • Reports
    • Transcript
  • Podcasts
  • iDeas Lab
  • Transcripts
  • Web Projects

Main menu

  • About Us
  • Support CSIS
    • Securing Our Future
Newsletter
Share
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Printfriendly.com

Thoughts from the Chairman: Looking Beyond the Horse Race: Can China's New Leaders Reform?

Freeman Report | Issue 3 | October 2012

October 31, 2012

FEATURED ESSAY:

Looking Beyond the Horse Race: Can China's New Leaders Reform?
By Christopher Johnson

After much anticipation, and one of the more difficult years in its recent history, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in a few weeks’ time finally will unveil the new leadership team that will guide the world’s most dynamic nation over the course of the next decade. The fact that China watchers, as well as influential political insiders, still cannot say with certainty which leaders—or even how many—will comprise the new lineup is a testament to how opaque and anachronistic the selection process is for the rulers of a rapidly modernizing nation playing an increasingly important role in the global marketplace. In that sense, no matter who walks out onto the rostrum at the Great Hall of the People when the next Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) is introduced to the world, attention will quickly shift from the identity of the new leaders to whether they can successfully manage the many challenges facing the regime. 


FEATURED MULTIMEDIA:

Watch Bonnie Glaser’s interview with the Wall Street Journal on North Korea’s missile capabilities and the threat of a missile attack on the U.S., held on October 9, 2012.

Watch Chris Johnson’s October 8, 2012 interview with 60 Minutes, in which he discusses the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation of Huawei.

Downloads
Download PDF file of "Thoughts from the Chairman: Looking Beyond the Horse Race: Can China's New Leaders Reform?"
Written By
Christopher K. Johnson
Senior Fellow (Non-resident), President's Office
Bonnie S. Glaser
Media Queries
Contact H. Andrew Schwartz
Chief Communications Officer
Tel: 202.775.3242

Contact Paige Montfort
Media Relations Coordinator, External Relations
Tel: 202.775.3173
Related
China, China Reality Check, Defense and Security, Economics, Freeman Chair in China Studies, Geopolitics and International Security, Governance and Rule of Law, International Development, The Freeman Chair China Report

Most Recent From Christopher K. Johnson

In the News
China retaliations over Pelosi-Taiwan trip beginning of 'new normal': Former CIA China analyst
Fox News | Christopher K. Johnson
August 10, 2022
In the News
Lab Leak Theory’s Revival Risks Making U.S.-China Relations Worse
Bloomberg | Iain Marlow and Dong Lyu
June 2, 2021
In the News
What Xi knew: pressure builds on China’s leader
Financial Times | Tom Mitchell
May 20, 2020
In the News
How the coronavirus threatens Xi's 'Chinese dream'
Washington Post | David Ignatius
February 11, 2020
In the News
Violence in Hong Kong as leader denounces "enemies of the people"
Axios | Dave Lawler
November 11, 2019
In the News
Transcript: Chris Johnson talks with Michael Morell on "Intelligence Matters"
CBS News | CBS News
November 6, 2019
In the News
Is Xi Mishandling Hong Kong Crisis? Hints of Unease in China’s Leadership
New York Times | Steven Lee Myers, Chris Buckley, and Keith Bradsher
September 7, 2019
In the News
Axios Future
Axios | Kaveh Waddell and Erica Pandey
June 13, 2019
View all content by this expert
Footer menu
  • Topics
  • Regions
  • Programs
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Analysis
  • Web Projects
  • Podcasts
  • iDeas Lab
  • Transcripts
  • About Us
  • Support Us
Contact CSIS
Email CSIS
Tel: 202.887.0200
Fax: 202.775.3199
Visit CSIS Headquarters
1616 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Media Queries
Contact H. Andrew Schwartz
Chief Communications Officer
Tel: 202.775.3242

Contact Paige Montfort
Media Relations Coordinator, External Relations
Tel: 202.775.3173

Daily Updates

Sign up to receive The Evening, a daily brief on the news, events, and people shaping the world of international affairs.

Subscribe to CSIS Newsletters

Follow CSIS
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

All content © 2022. All rights reserved.

Legal menu
  • Credits
  • Privacy Policy
  • Reprint Permissions