It's a big week for Chinese politics as its annual political conclave gets under way in Beijing. Amid the pomp and heightened security, the Two Sessions is an important preview of the government's plans and policies for the year ahead. And increasingly over the last decade, that roadmap has been underpinned by the instructions of China's leader and the doctrine named for him - Xi Jinping Thought. 
 
But despite the fact that his decisions affect so many, Xi’s beliefs and what guides him can seem difficult to understand, at least to outsiders.

Our guests this week have set out to decipher this. 

Steve Tsang is Professor of China Studies and Director of the China Institute at SOAS in London; and his colleague Olivia Cheung is a research Fellow there. 

Together they have written a book - ‘The Political Thought of Xi Jinping’ - which sets out Xi’s philosophy and why it’s important for us all to understand his beliefs.