Decoding China's Two Sessions: Politics, Purges, and a New Five Year Plan

Decoding China's Two Sessions: Politics, Purges, and a New Five Year Plan

From Pekingology by Center for Strategic and International Studies

March 19, 2026 · 49 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the significance of China's Two Sessions and the implications for Chinese politics and policymaking.

In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Neil Thomas, Fellow on Chinese Politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. They discuss the significance of China's recent "Two Sessions," where the National People's Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference come together with great pageantry to announce new policies. Neil unpacks the state of China's elite politics and purges, the highlights of the 15th Five-Year Plan, President Xi's conservative approach to policymaking, and who might rise to important roles during Xi's fourth term.

People in this episode

Host: Henrietta Levin

Guest: Neil Thomas

Topics covered

  • Chinese politics
  • Two Sessions
  • Five-Year Plan
  • elite politics
  • policy making
  • purges

Keywords

  • China
  • Two Sessions
  • politics
  • purges
  • Five-Year Plan
  • Xi Jinping
  • policy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Asia Society Policy Institute, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Books & works: 15th Five-Year Plan

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