While the rest of the world was obsessing over the U.S. elections, China-watchers were digesting the Fifth Plenum communique released October 29, the official guidance to the thinking of the CCP Central Committee. Chairman Xi assured the public that imports stimulate domestic demand, exports reinforce global reliance on China, and FDI contributes to industry upgrading. That’s Xi’s “dual circulation” theory in a nutshell.
Does dual circulation actually mean anything? Does it represent change, or is it just the same old policy under a new slogan? Does it mean that Beijing will weaponise supply chains? And perhaps most importantly: will it work?
Sinologist and social scientist David Kelly joins us to discuss Xi Jinping, his grip on power, his undeclared war on Australian exports, and what an incoming Biden administration may mean for US-China relations.