The NPI "Ask What You Want to Know" series is a forum in which leading researchers discuss issues of current interest and field questions from attendees.

The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in China from October 16 to 22, 2022. It is believed that the Xi Jinping regime is almost certain to enter its third term. How will Xi Jinping's third term unfold? What will be the composition of the Politburo Standing Committee members, the supreme leadership? Will young members be in charge for the next decade? Who will succeed Xi Jinping, and what kind of duties will the successors assume? What impact will these factors have on China's domestic and foreign policy and Japan-China relations in the future? We welcomed two up-and-coming panelists to discuss the future of the next regime.

Moderator

Kawashima Shin, Professor, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, The University of Tokyo; Executive Director of Research, NPI

Panelists

Minemura Kenji, Visiting Professor, Aoyama Gakuin University; Senior Research Fellow, Canon Institute for Global Studies

Eto Naoko, Professor, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law, Gakushuin University; Visiting Fellow, NPI

Active discussion was held with the participation by attendees from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, other government agencies, corporations, and the mass media. The main questions from attendees were organized and posed to the panelists on the day of the event as follows.

1. The 20th Party Congress has opened. How would you analyze President Xi Jinping's policy speech?

2. Why does Xi Jinping need to restructure ideologies such as Marxism and socialism, and what does it mean to do so?

3. Economic policy is said to be the Achilles heel for the Xi Jinping regime. What do you think about it?

4. How can we evaluate Xi Jinping's speech in terms of security and military?

5. How do you see the relationship between the central and local governments as an internal political issue, the surveillance system to prevent the spread of the Novel Coronavirus pandemic, and differences in perceptions toward the regime by different generations?

6. How will the pressure to achieve Taiwan "liberation" affect the Xi Jinping leadership and the Chinese People's Liberation Army?

7. What will the future of Japan-China and U.S.-China relations look like?

8. To what extent will China's maritime expansion continue? What are your thoughts on the possibility of a military invasion of Okinawa or Taiwan?

9. How do you predict the party personnel appointments for Xi Jinping's third term (as of October 19, 2022)?