China’s president, Xi Jinping, walked into the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday to open the Communist party summit and lay out his vision for the next five years. He is expected to be formally returned to power this week, and over 104 minutes his speech gave a foretaste of what is in store for the next half decade.
There were no bombshells. His address paid tribute to the party’s achievements under his rule in the last decade and pledged more of the same. Aggression abroad and control at home remain the heart of those plans.
