International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine

Taking the capitalist road

Roland Lew — 2003-03-07T00:00:00Z

The 16th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took place in mid- November. It has become a routine and well-controlled event, held at a fixed date (every five years), which was far from the case in the past (Congresses were held in 1928, 1945, 1956 and then 1969, subsequently becoming more regular). It has also become a non-event: it took place apparently as predicted and, more strikingly, as predicted for several years. The headlines of the world's newspapers proclaimed that 'the Chinese party Congress has embraced capitalism'.

- IV348 - March 2003 / China

Rebellion in the rust belt

Roland Lew — 2002-09-12T00:00:00Z

The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) has joined the WTO (World Trade Organization), not without difficulty and after 15 years of determined effort by a regime which is described as post-Maoist but which is in fact anti-Maoist in its social and economic logic. The next congress of the CCP will be held in the autumn. It is supposed to draw a balance sheet of the Deng Xiaoping years and organize the succession, or the appearance of succession, to the direct heirs of Deng around Jiang Zemin.

- IV343 - September 2002 / China