Understanding China’s Political and Institutional Foundations: A Conversation with Chenggang Xu

To face the China challenge, the United States needs a better understanding of the Chinese Communist Party’s origins. How has the CCP maintained legitimacy and control while pursuing market reforms and private sector development? How has the party overcome geographic and historical challenges to maintain its centralized control over ideology? In Institutional Genes: The Origins of China’s Institutions and Totalitarianism, Professor Chenggang Xu argues that, unlike the Soviet Union, China has developed a system of regionally administered totalitarianism. Like other totalitarian regimes, the CCP’s system is inherently expansionist and positions China as not only a domestic oppressor but a global security threat. Join Dr. Miles Yu, senior fellow and director of Hudson’s China Center, for a conversation with Professor Xu on why misunderstanding China’s political order may create critical strategic risks for the US amid intensifying geopolitical rivalry.