How much can we really understand about Chinese politics from the outside, and how much has become genuinely unknowable?

A senior general, who is a close confidant of Xi Jinping; a family friend for whom retirement norms were reportedly bent. Present one day, gone the next, with no explanation that outsiders can independently verify. That is the puzzle at the heart of China-watching today. Some things remain remarkably legible: the direction of policy, the priorities of the leadership, a range of economic data…Others disappear behind a wall we simply cannot see through. In many ways, the craft of studying China lies in preventing the unknowable from quietly corrupting the knowable.

This episode is about how to read the Chinese political system—and, above all, how to read the man at its centre and the ideology that now bears his name. What can we genuinely learn about Xi Jinping from the immense body of literature the Party has produced? And what exactly is Xi Jinping Thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era? Is it a coherent doctrine handed down from the top, or, as my guest argues, something that is assembled from the bottom up—a rhizome of concepts that are continually interpreted, adapted, recombined and reassembled across China’s bureaucracy, where some ideas take root while others quietly fade away?

My guest today is Chris Mittelstaedt, Associate Professor of Sinology specialising in modern China at the University of Zurich. His recent work offers a compelling new way of thinking about Chinese ideology—not simply as a fixed body of doctrine, but as a living political language whose meaning is constantly negotiated within the Party-state itself.

Our conversation begins with the problem of knowledge: what we can know about elite politics in China, what we cannot, and how to avoid confusing one for the other. We then turn to Xi Jinping, his vision of national rejuvenation, and the mechanics of Xi Jinping Thought. Finally, we look ahead—to next year’s Party Congress, the growing influence of Cai Qi, and the longer-term implications of Xi’s rule. If Xi remains China’s leader through 2035, an entire generation of officials will have spent their careers thinking and governing in his political vocabulary. Do they internalise that worldview, or merely perform it? And either way, what kind of China will it leave behind?

As always, I hope you enjoy the discussion. If you do, please like, share, subscribe, and rate the episode. It really helps the show reach a wider audience. And please do consider supporting the show by reaching out to me.