This episode summarizes the outcomes of the recently concluded National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People’s Congress (NPC) collectively known as the “Two Sessions” or Lianghui. It touches on a number of important developments including a possible Chinese civil code, deepening of socioeconomic reforms, the status of Hong Kong, and Xi’s consolidation of power. Professor Minzner gives us his analysis of the political processes involved and comments on the significance of the Two Sessions as the last major political event before the critical Nineteenth Party Congress.
Professor Minzner is Professor of Law at Fordham University and an expert in Chinese law and governance. He has written extensively on these topics in both academic journals and the popular press. Prior to joining Fordham, he was an Associate Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, and has served as Senior Counsel for the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, International Affairs Fellow for the Council on Foreign Relations, and Yale-China Legal Education Fellow at the Xibei Institute of Politics and Law in Xi’an, China.