Political Reform Without Substantial Change: An Assessment on the Hu-Wen Leadership in China

This article examines the new Chinese leadership’s reform policies and consequences with an eye on future political evolution in China. In short, the Hu-Wen regime was very successful in solidifying its power base through several policies, such as the "going-to-the-people,” “hollowing-out,” “internal Party democracy,” and "Party’s firm initiative.” However, these reform policies were not substantially different from those of the Jiang Zemin era. Furthermore, even though it has dug stronger roots into the Chinese political system, the new regime also is unlikely to implement more radical political reform in the foreseeable future.