A year of uncertainty for China, plus a new graft watchdog and more
Politics & Current Affairs
Top politics and current affairs news for January 10, 2017. Part of the daily The China Project news roundup, "Xi Jinping and China’s richest men to attend Davos."
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Opinion: What will China give up in 2017 for the stability it seeks? / SCMP
Cary Huang characterizes 2017 as a year of uncertainty for China. There is the scheduled reshuffle of top political figures at the 19th national congress of the Communist Party this autumn, which may determine tough decisions between market reform and tighter economic control. Brexit, upcoming European elections, and Donald Trump represent an unusually large amount of instability from outside. For more on the risks in China’s economic and geopolitical strategy in 2017, see this Foreign Policy article from yesterday. -
China rolls out new graft watchdog / WSJ (paywall)
The “national supervisory commission,” with powers to “interrogate and detain suspects, freeze assets, and, in some cases, render punishment,” is now being tested at regional levels before becoming a centralized institution next year. It is the latest deepening of President Xi’s anti-corruption campaign that has “sidelined rivals, bolstered his popularity, and helped raise his stature as China’s most dominant leader in decades.”
- Japan, South Korea scramble fighter jets after eight Chinese warplanes fly over Korean Strait / SCMP
- All aboard for Africa’s heartland — on a train built in China / SCMP
- Taiwan courts Central America after U.S. visit angers China / Reuters
- Chinese professor sacked after criticizing Mao online / Reuters
