Despite the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China being a domestic event, it is inevitable that many of its decisions and the statements, particularly those made by Party leader Xi Jinping in his speech on the opening day, will have international implications. As with the U.S., China’s domestic affairs carry huge global interest and meaning. The fate of the Chinese economy, its plans to address healthcare reforms, its strategy to address environmental issues—all these will have a knock-on effect on the outside world, and to some extent involve questions about collaboration and partnership. The issue remains how this partnership should proceed.
Pressing issues
Xi’s statement on October 16 underlined some well-developed themes which have
