Description

The new leadership of China is now completely in position. Over the next five to ten years they will hope to steer China towards middle income status, doubling GDP, and becoming one of the major forces of the modern world. What do we know about this leadership, their political priorities, the paths they have taken to be in power, and the priorities they have set themselves? How do we assess the legacy they have been given by Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, and in what ways can we expect them to change, challenge or subvert this? What are their chances of combating corruption and restoring the Party to its moral position in society, reconnecting it with the historic narratives on which its legitimacy was founded? And most importantly of all, in what ways can this networked and small elite really connect with the broader society around them as China changes and evolves in the decade ahead.’

Kerry Brown is Professor Chinese Politics and Director of the China Studies Centre, University of Sydney and Team Leader of the Europe China Research and Advice Network (ECRAN) funded by the European Union. He is an Associate of the Asia Programme at Chatham House, London and was a member of the British Diplomatic Service from 1998 to 2005, serving as First Secretary, British Embassy Beijing 2000-2003 and Head of the Indonesia and East Timor Section 2003-2005. Educated at the universities of Cambridge (MA) and Leeds (PhD), he is the author of `The Purge of the Inner Mongolia Peoples Party’ (2006), `Struggling Giant: China in the 21st Century’ (2007), `The Rise of the Dragon: Chinese Inward and Outward Investment in the Reform Era’ (2008), `Friends and Enemies: The Past, Present and Future of the Communist Party of China’ (2009), `Ballot Box China’ (2011), `China 2020’ (2011), `Hu Jintao: China’s Silent Leader’ (2012), `Contemporary China’ (2013), and `The Networked Leadership: China’s Fifth Generation Leaders’ (Forthcoming).