07 May
2026
Global China Conversations #48
From Mao to Xi: How Did the CCP Rise—and How Does It Steer China’s Development?
11:00
–
12:00
China’s rise as a global economic and political power is closely linked to the evolving role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in shaping development strategies and governance structures. As geopolitical tensions increase and China’s global footprint expands, understanding the institutional foundations of CCP rule is becoming increasingly relevant for policymakers and researchers alike. This Global China Conversation connects historical trajectories with present-day developments, and provides a framework for understanding how political authority and economic transformation are intertwined in China’s development path. How has the CCP historically built and maintained political control while transforming China’s economic system? How do institutional arrangements and political incentives shape policy implementation and economic outcomes? And to what extent do historical governance practices continue to influence China’s development model under Xi Jinping?
Program
The event consists of two impulse lectures followed by a discussion.
The Global China Conversation #48 will be held in English.
Literature
Chen, T. and Kung, J. K.-S. (2024), The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party, Available at SSRN
Wemheuer, F. (2023), Ein- und Überholen des Westens: Globale Zukunftspläne der KPCh von Mao bis Xi [Catching-Up with and Surpassing the West: The CCP’s Global Plans for the Future from Mao to Xi] in: Fuchs, D., Klotzbücher, S., Riemenschnitter, A., Springer, L., and Wemheuer, F. (eds.), Die Zukunft mit China denken [Thinking the Future with China], 114-138, Vienna: Mandelbaum.
Speakers
Ting Chen
Ting Chen is an associate professor in the Department of Economics at Hong Kong Baptist University. She obtained her Ph.D. in Social Science from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2015. Her research interests lie in the fields of Political Economy, Economic History, and Long-term Economic Development. She also serves as the associate director of the Centre for Business Analytics and the Digital Economy in the School of Business.
Felix Wemheuer
Felix Wemheuer is Chair Professor for Modern China Studies at the University of Cologne. His research focuses on Maoist China, socialist history, and global comparisons of communist systems. His major publications include Famine Politics in Maoist China and the Soviet Union (Yale University Press, 2014) and A Social History of Maoist China: Conflict and Change, 1949–1976 (Cambridge University Press, 2019). He also hosts the YouTube channel Studying Maoist China. Between 2008 and 2010, he was a visiting scholar at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University.
Moderation
Manuel Liu
Manuel Liu has been writing for China.Table since October 2024. Born in Hamburg, he grew up in a German-Chinese household and lived in Shanghai for eight years. He studied philosophy and Chinese studies (B.A.) in Siegen, Cologne, and Beijing, and later completed an M.A. in International Political Economy of East Asia in Bochum. A proud father and Cologne resident by choice, he is interested in the relationships between the governments, businesses, and people of Germany and China
Contact
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