The Future of CCP Stability

Implications for Taiwan


At the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Sixth Plenum, hosted in Beijing on November 8 to 11, General Secretary Xi Jinping turned to the past to fortify his future, issuing a historical resolution reflecting on the previous 100 years of the CCP and identifying himself as the leader who will bring China into its next era as a great power. Despite this, questions are circulating regarding Xi’s eventual successor as well as potential instability among the rival factions within the party, especially as the CCP gears up for the 20th Party Congress in October 2022.

As Xi tightens his grip on power in the face of potential internal dissent and looming economic challenges, a discussion December 1, 2021, assessed the stability of the party-state heading into 2022, how Beijing will navigate a complex range of social and economic problems, how these might affect Xi’s strategy toward Taiwan in the coming months and years, and in turn, what this means for U.S. policy toward Taiwan.

Agenda


WELCOME REMARKS

Michael Wills, The National Bureau of Asian Research


OPENING REMARKS

Director General Daniel Kuo-ching Chen, TECO Seattle


PANEL DISCUSSION

Moderator

Rachel Bernstein, The National Bureau of Asian Research

Panelists

William McCahill, The National Bureau of Asian Research

Theresa Lou, House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on the Asia-Pacific