Tracking China's Leadership Transition

November 8th, 2012

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping walks past Chinese President Hu Jintao (front left), former Chinese President Jiang Zemin (front right) and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (front right) during the opening session of the 18th Communist Party Congress held at the Great Hall of the People on November 8, 2012 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)

As China begins its once-a-decade handover of power at the upper reaches of the Communist Party, Asia Society offers a range of perspectives on the 2012 transition between outgoing President Hu Jintao and President-to-be Xi Jinping. Scroll through the commentary, reportage, and videos below for insights into this opaque political process.

New York

Xi Jinping, One Year Later: Will He Be the 'Chinese Gorbachev'?

After one year in power, Chinese president Xi Jinping has largely consolidated his power, but he still faces "perilous" challenges, according to a panel Thursday night at Asia Society in New York.
'High Bar' of the New 'Chinese Dream'

Watch: The New Yorker's Evan Osnos on Chinese President Xi Jinping's political slogan.
The Pope and the Party

Uncovering similarities between China and the Vatican.
Will Xi Jinping be Different?

Political scientist Andrew Nathan discusses newly installed Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s relationship to his predecessors Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, the likelihood of political reform under Xi.
2013, and Beyond: Why Reform May Be Mission Impossible for China's Xi Jinping

Facing many different political factions and conflicts, the cards are stacked against China's new leader, writes Ouyang Bin.
For China's New Leaders, the Spirit of Deng Remains Strong

Deng Xiaoping biographer Ezra Vogel breaks down four major political perspective in modern China, and suggests which one "trumps" them all.
Interview: Chinese Activist Wu Qing

"I want to change China from a country ruled of man and by man to a country ruled of law."
China's Leadership Change: A Paradox in Transition

Asia Society's Orville Schell tells Asia Society members that China's government has a leadership "deficit."
China's Party Congress: Transition Delayed

Asia Society Associate Fellow Steven Lewis says observers both inside and outside China were disappointed with a changing of the guard that may not bring much change.
Age Matters to China's Politburo

How did China's self-interested ruling elite manage to agree on how power at the top would be shared?