Cheng Li, William R. Kenan Professor of Government and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, has published "China's Fifth Generation: Is Diversity a Source of Strength or Weakness?" in the July issue of Asia Policy. The abridged article will appear in its complete form in a forthcoming publication based on The National Bureau of Asian Research's "Emerging Leaders in East Asia" project.
The article studies the emerging "fifth generation" of leaders with a focus both on intergenerational shared characteristics and on intragenerational diversities. Li contends that China's decision-makers are not a monolithic group of elites who share the same views, values, and visions, and they are not perennially engaged in a zero-sum struggle for power in which winner takes all.
The growing diversity within China's leadership and the dynamic interdependence among competing factions are particularly evident in the fifth generation. These competing factions are willing to cooperate, partly because they are in the same boat and partly because their expertise and leadership skills are complementary. Consequently negotiation, compromise, consensus-building and behind-the-scenes lobbying will likely occur more often in the future. The emerging bipartisan balance of power will further contribute to the diversity of outlooks and stances on major issues, such as economic globalization, social justice, political democratization and environmental protection. Though interested in promoting bilateral cooperation with the United States on various issue areas, the new generation of leaders will likely reject any lectures from the United States regarding how China should behave in the modern world.
The article studies the emerging "fifth generation" of leaders with a focus both on intergenerational shared characteristics and on intragenerational diversities. Li contends that China's decision-makers are not a monolithic group of elites who share the same views, values, and visions, and they are not perennially engaged in a zero-sum struggle for power in which winner takes all.
The growing diversity within China's leadership and the dynamic interdependence among competing factions are particularly evident in the fifth generation. These competing factions are willing to cooperate, partly because they are in the same boat and partly because their expertise and leadership skills are complementary. Consequently negotiation, compromise, consensus-building and behind-the-scenes lobbying will likely occur more often in the future. The emerging bipartisan balance of power will further contribute to the diversity of outlooks and stances on major issues, such as economic globalization, social justice, political democratization and environmental protection. Though interested in promoting bilateral cooperation with the United States on various issue areas, the new generation of leaders will likely reject any lectures from the United States regarding how China should behave in the modern world.
