ABSTRACT
Xi Jinping’s prospective third term as China’s top leader begins at the 20th Party Congress this autumn. Xi’s first two five-year terms, spanning from 2012 to 2022, demonstrated how his past policies had evolved in significant ways but took a number of unexpected turns. This chapter explores issues in an effort to develop a coherent picture of China’s future under Xi. It assesses Xi’s fundamental attributes as a political leader and policymaker and evaluates Xi’s top challenges during his first 100 days in office in his third term. Xi’s pronounced drive for great-power status undoubtedly reflects his own estimation, shared by many among the party elite, of China’s growing ‘comprehensive national power’ relative to the United States and within international system. It also reflects Xi’s apparent confidence that he is uniquely qualified to oversee China’s final push for complete ‘rejuvenation’. In the last five years, Xi has regularly invoked ‘struggle’ as the core idea that should guide China’s international activities.
