No, China isn’t throwing the doors open again — Editor’s note for Friday, October 14, 2022

Dear reader,

The Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Congress begins on Sunday. There has been much speculation in the media about what will happen at the gathering, but the only thing we can be sure of is that Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 is going to emerge from it stronger than ever. (Some brave commentators disagree with this view.)

In the unlikely event that there is actually breaking news from the Congress, we’ll cover it. Otherwise, watch this space for reporting on and analysis of all the official pronouncements and set pieces. In the meantime, in case you missed them, these stories from the last week will fill you in on what you need to know about the Party’s party:

• No, China isn’t throwing the doors open again by Dexter Tiff Roberts
• 20th Party Congress: The view from Beijing by Jeremiah Jenne
• The two women competing for promotion at the 20th Party Congress by Johanna Costigan
• Beijing doubles down on COVID zero ahead of Party Congress by Nadya Yeh

Other news stories we focused on this week include:

• A rare protest banner hangs off a bridge in Beijing
• China’s slow but steady moves in the Arctic
• New U.S. chip rules: Biden’s “most aggressive” move on China to date

Our phrase of the week is: hex technology (海克斯科技 hǎi kè sī kējì), a gaming term that means a fusion of magic and technology, which people on Chinese social media are using to criticize a soy sauce company for using artificial additives.