asia policy, number 6 (july 2008), 53–93 • http://asiapolicy.nbr.org • China’s Fifth Generation: Is Diversity a Source of Strength or Weakness? Cheng Li cheng li is Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center. He is also William R. Kenan Professor of Government at Hamilton College. Dr. Li’s most recent publication is China’s Changing Political Landscape: Prospects for Democracy (2008). He can be reached at <
[email protected]>. note u This is an abridged version of a longer research paper that will be included in a forthcoming publication based on NBR’s “Emerging Leaders in East Asia” project. The author is indebted to Yinsheng Li for his research assistance. The author also thanks Sally Carman, Christina Culver, Scott W. Harold, Kenneth B. Pyle, and two anonymous reviewers for suggesting ways in which to clarify the article. keywords: china; elite politics; leadership; intragenerational diversity; factions; fifth generation asia policy executive summary This article studies the emerging “fifth generation” of leaders with a focus both on intergenerational shared characteristics and on intragenerational diversities. main argument China’s decisionmakers are by no means a monolithic group of elites who share the same views, values, and visions; nor are they always engaged in a ferocious zero-sum struggle for power in which the winner takes all. The growing diversity within China’s leadership and the dynamic interdependence among competing factions are particularly evident in the fifth generation. The fact that the two most powerful camps in the fifth generation—tuanpai and princelings—have been allotted an equal number of seats in China’s supreme decisionmaking organs indicates the intensity of factional competition.