Jonathan Fenby

Does Xi Jinping really want reform? If so, he would unravel China

As the Communist Party starts its plenum, what's at stake is not economics, but political power

Xi Jinping (Photo: Getty) 
issue 09 November 2013

It is now 35 years since Deng Xiaoping gained mastery of China and launched a process that changed the world. The diminutive, chain-smoking ‘paramount leader’ adopted market economics to make his nation a great power once again and to cement the rule of the Communist party with no room for political liberalisation.

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