Author: Cheng Li, Brookings

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping’s current visit to the United States is important to both nations, but for different reasons.

Xi is expected to soon take over from Hu Jintao as leader of the world’s most populous country and second-largest economy. Read more…

Author: Cheng Li, Brookings Institution

China has been the fastest growing major economy for the last two decades and will most likely be the first to recover from the global financial crisis. China’s political future is less clear. The political system has increasingly proven inadequate to dealing with the complicated and sometimes contradictory needs of the Chinese economy and society.

Political tensions caused by many factors are all on the rise and China’s political system does not seem capable of finding sound, safe and sustainable ways to handle these challenges. Given the pressures, what can we expect from the upcoming new generation of leadership?

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