The New Emperors

'Kerry Brown's account of China's power elite is sweeping, topical and accessible, and a most valuable addition to our knowledge of the rising superpower.' Jonathan Fenby, author of Tiger Head, Snake Tails and The Penguin History of Modern China 'So many people I meet often discuss China in their own Western context, and have little or no regard for the structure of Chinese society or how it has developed. Few say that the Chinese communist party is the biggest business organisation in the world. Kerry Brown's book is a must read for anyone who has genuine interest or need to understand those complexities, which given how important the country is becoming to the world, means the other 5 billion plus of us that don't live there.' Jim O'Neill, Former Chairman of Goldman Sachs 'Kerry Brown plumbs the depths of power, networks and influence of the newly installed Chinese leadership under Xi Jinping. The result is an insightful framework for understanding how they got there and- importantly- how they intend to stay there.' Bates Gill, University of Sydney 'Kerry Brown is one of our most perceptive and accurate foreign observers of China, and 'The New Emperors' is the distillation of his views of the way the Chinese Communist Party operates. Immensely well-informed, insightful and caustic, Brown digs deeply into the nature and background of the Party and the people who dominate it. His stories of the in-fighting and scandal, which are deeply emblematic of the way the Party operates, are memorable, while his account of the background and rise of the newest emperor, Xi Jinping, is the finest I have yet come across. This book is excellent for the general reader, but for anyone who has to deal with Chinese power in any form it is essential.' John Simpson

Kerry Brown is the Director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and former head of the Asia Programme at Chatham House. With 20 years experience of life in China, he has worked in education, business and government, including a term as First Secretary at the British Embassy in Beijing. He writes regularly for the Times Literary Supplement and the Guardian amongst others, as well as for many international and Chinese media outlets. He is the author of Contemporary China (2012), Friends and Enemies: The Past, Present and Future of the Communist Party of China (with Will Hutton, 2009) and Struggling Giant: China in the 21st Century (with Jonathan Fenby, 2007).

Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction: The Networked Leadership 1. Power and the Politburo 2. The Long and Winding Road to the Eighteenth Party Congress 3. The New Emperor: Xi Jinping 4. The Lawyer: Premier Li Keqiang 5. The Stars around the two Suns: The Other Five 6. The Contradictions of Modern China: Ideology and its Role Conclusion Notes Select Bibliography of Chinese Sources Index