On 16 October 2022, the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party will come together for its 5-yearly National Party Congress to decide the future of China’s leadership. While President Xi Jinping is likely to renew his tenure, the roles of other senior figures in the Chinese Government will be up for grabs. These positions have the potential to alter China’s economic and political priorities in the years ahead.

How will the outcomes of the National Party Congress affect China’s place in the world? What would a third term for Xi Jinping mean for the people of China? How can the UK, Europe and other democratic nations manage increasingly intractable relations with one of the most powerful people in the world? Perhaps a look back at the way China has been viewed by Europeans in the past can offer insights into understanding China today and into the future.

In this special event in partnership with Asia Matters, we welcome you to join us for a live podcast to listen-in to a dynamic discussion between one of the world’s leading China experts, Professor Kerry Brown, Director of the Lau China Institute, in conversation with renowned journalist Andrew Peaple – News Editor of The Wire China and host of the Asia Matters podcast.

This event will also mark the official launch of Professor Kerry Brown’s latest book, China Through European Eyes. Copies will be available on the day and guests will have a chance to have their books signed by the author.

About the speakers

Professor Kerry Brown, Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College, London

Kerry Brown is Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College, London. He is an Associate of the Asia Pacific Programme at Chatham House, London, an adjunct of the Australia New Zealand School of Government in Melbourne, and the co-editor of the Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, run from the German Institute for Global Affairs in Hamburg. He is President-Elect of the Kent Archaeological Society and an Affiliate of the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit at Cambridge University.

From 2012 to 2015 he was Professor of Chinese Politics and Director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, Australia. Prior to this he worked at Chatham House from 2006 to 2012, as Senior Fellow and then Head of the Asia Programme. From 1998 to 2005 he worked at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as First Secretary at the British Embassy in Beijing, and then as Head of the Indonesia, Philippine and East Timor Section. He lived in the Inner Mongolia region of China from 1994 to 1996.

He has a Master of Arts from Cambridge University, a Post Graduate Diploma in Mandarin Chinese (Distinction) from Thames Valley University, London, and a PhD in Chinese politics and language from Leeds University. Professor Brown directed the Europe China Research and Advice Network (ECRAN) giving policy advice to the European External Action Service between 2011 and 2014. He is the author of almost 20 books on modern Chinese politics, and has written for every major international news outlet, and been interviewed by every major news channel on issues relating to contemporary China.

Andrew Peaple, News Editor, The Wire China, and Host, Asia Matters

Andrew Peaple is the news editor at The Wire China, and the host of the CSDS Asia Matters podcast. He previously worked for 16 years at The Wall Street Journal as a reporter, columnist and editor, including periods in Beijing and Hong Kong.