Chinese Political System Change, Pluralization, and Learning

The March 2014 conference on “Mainland China's Reform and Transition? The Opportunities and Challenges of the Xi-Li Administration” took place at National Chengchi University at what appeared to be an inflection point in China's domestic political history and in its dealings with its neighborhood and the world beyond. The conferees had more than 35 years of mainland reform-era history to assess, at the same time that China's internal and foreign policy dynamics and behavior were changing in important respects—tightening internal control, some campaign-like policy initiatives (particularly against corruption, regime enemies, and some resonance with older themes like “peaceful evolution”), and a more assertive, nationalist-tinged foreign policy. Some analysts saw these changes as tactical moves by Xi Jinping (習近平) to consolidate power and then move reform along a more progressive path, while others viewed them as more enduring and worrying changes of strategic trajectory. Still others were inclined to see in China's contemporary circumstance fundamental systemic weakness as a possible prelude to disorder (Lampton, 2014).