In this session, Torigian will provide rare insights into the life and legacy of Xi Zhongxun, the father of Xi Jinping. The elder Xi was a CCP member for more than seven decades and was integral to the building of the Special Economic Zones that launched China into the reform’s era.  Drawing on exclusive interviews, documents and decades of research, the talk will explore how history, politics and family legacy are at the very heart of China’s current political leadership.

About Joseph Torigian:

 Joseph has written extensively on Chinese politics and history His research and analysis have featured in the BBC, Washinton Post, Bloomberg, Financial Times, New Yorker and CNN. 

In addition to his associate professorship at American University, Joseph is also a center associate of the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan. Previously, he was a Research Fellow at Stanford's Hoover History Lab, Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton-Harvard’s China and the World Program, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), a Predoctoral Fellow at George Washington University’s Institute for Security and Conflict Studies, an IREX scholar affiliated with the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, and a Fulbright Scholar at Fudan University in Shanghai. He is also a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Agenda:

• 2:00pm GMT / 10:00pm CST – Opening Remarks
• 2:05pm GMT / 10:05pm CST – Talk by Joseph Torigian on Xi Zhongxun, the CCP, and elite power dynamics
• 2:50pm GMT / 10:50pm CST – Discussion and Q&A, moderated by CBBC 

This event is exclusive to CBBC Members.