Fewsmith in the Media on Xi’s Raised Status
Joseph Fewsmith, Professor of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was interviewed by several news outlets on the declaration by China’s Communist Party that President Xi Jinping is its “core.”
Fewsmith was interviewed for an October 27, 2016 article in the New York Times entitled “China’s Communist Party Declares Xi Jinping ‘Core’ Leader.”
From the text of the article:
In China, such titles are a powerful political currency, and Mr. Xi’s new status will resonate through the party hierarchy.
“It seems that this plenum really was a victory for Xi,” Joseph Fewsmith, a professor at Boston University who studies Chinese leadership politics, said by email. “What exactly that means in terms of personnel changes is hard to say, but it seems that Xi will get what he wants.”
Fewsmith was also interviewed for an October 27, 2016 article in Bloomberg entitled “China Communist Party Raises Xi’s Status Ahead of Reshuffle.“
From the text of the article:
Joseph Fewsmith, a political science professor at Boston University who studies China’s elite politics, said the party’s statement showed an effort to balance Xi’s new status with the institution of collective leadership.
“Xi will have a smooth path to the 19th Party Congress and will be able to promote the people he wants to promote,” Fewsmith said. “Now we will see how he will use this power.”
Fewsmith is Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Boston University. He is the author or editor of eight books, including, most recently, The Logic and Limits of Political Reform in China (January 2013). Fewsmith travels to China regularly and is active in the Association for Asian Studies and the American Political Science Association. Learn more about him here.