‘China’s Communist Party And Xi Seem Unassailable But There Are Pitfalls Ahead’

NEW DELHI: China’s Communist Party has been able to script a remarkable turnaround from its early clumsy handling of the pandemic, to the point today where it is seen as having done a more successful job than many other countries including India.

That’s the word from Rana Mitter, director of the Oxford University China Studies Centre. In this conversation on StratNewsGlobal with Surya Gangadharan, Mitter a leading China scholar in the UK, argues that much the same would apply to President Xi Jinping whose control of the party is pretty much absolute. In all likelihood, he will continue in the saddle next year for an unprecedented third term, cementing his position as China’s most powerful leader since its founder Chairman Mao.

But there are pitfalls ahead, he warns. China could stumble on growth, its population is aging faster than perhaps planned for, and climate change is wreaking havoc on the environment given the breakneck pace of development.

Hear it from Rana Mitter as China’s Communist Party marks 100 years since its birth.