Chinese Communist Party Conference: Certain Present, Uncertain Future

All eyes are on Beijing Wednesday as the 19^th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) begins. Carefully choreographed by the most central players in Zhongnanhai, the Chinese Communist Party’s headquarters just off Tiananmen Square, the Congress meets every five years to select key leadership throughout the party. This time, it is about one man and one man only. But is the grand show of the party conference a reflection of Xi’s power or a sign of a shaky grip on a turbulent political system?

Current President Xi Jinping is expected to be named for a second, five-year term as General Secretary of the CCP, the most powerful position in China. He will also cement his position domestically through appointments of key allies to the Standing Committee of the Politburo, an elite group of five to nine individuals, including him, who together steer China.