What to Know Ahead of China’s 20th Party Congress: A Conversation with Lingling Wei

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Lingling Wei joins us to discuss China’s upcoming 20th Party Congress that is scheduled to take place in October. Wei explains that during Party Congress meetings new leadership and constitutional changes are formally approved. Wei presents candidates likely to be promoted to senior positions during the upcoming Party Congress and highlights how these potential personnel shifts may impact China’s future economic and foreign policies. She argues that despite President Xi's great power, he is willing to course correct when needed, pointing to how some of Xi’s economic policies have been dialed back during China’s recent economic downturn. Lastly, Wei concludes that the results of the Party Congress are important in shaping the future of U.S.-China relations.

Lingling Wei is the chief China correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. She has been with the Journal since 2008 and a China correspondent since 2011. As U.S.-China tensions grew, she was expelled from China in 2020, along with other American journalists. In 2020, she was named as a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting. Wei is also a co-author of Superpower Showdown: How the Battle Between Trump and Xi Threatens a New Cold War.