The year 2021 brought sweeping regulatory crackdowns and drastic foreign policy moves in China. The Chinese leadership also recognizes the competing needs to play hardball and maintain socioeconomic stability during this sensitive political season.

China’s upcoming Party Congress, in which as many as two-thirds of CCP leadership roles will change hands, deserves a close examination of the processes and procedures behind the vetting and selecting of new leaders.

This fall, the CCP will convene the highly-anticipated 20th Party congress, setting the stage for significant leadership turnover. Li predicts that, while Xi Jinping will surely remain Party chief, as many as two-thirds of the Central Committee, half of the Politburo, and more than half of the Politburo Standing Committee will be newcomers.