Panel discussion: Xi Jinping and the Question of Power
Johnny Erling & Joseph Fewsmith in Dialogue
Moderator: Jürgen Trittin

March 13, 2025
6 PM (CET)
Adam von Trott Saal
Tagungs- und Veranstaltungshaus Alte Mensa
Wilhelmspl. 3, 37073 Göttingen

Panelists:
Johnny Erling (Journalist, China expert)
Joseph Fewsmith (Political scientist, China scholar, Boston University)
Moderation: Jürgen Trittin (Former Federal Minister)

This event will be held in person and streamed via Zoom. It will be conducted in English, but questions during the Q&A can be asked in German. No registration is required—this is an open event.

Zoom Link: https://uni-goettingen.zoom-x.de/j/69671256989

Xi Jinping and the Question of Power

Since taking office in 2012, Xi Jinping has reshaped the Chinese political landscape, consolidating authority in ways not seen since Mao Zedong. His leadership has redefined governance, the role of the Communist Party, and China’s position on the global stage. But how does power function under Xi? What mechanisms sustain his control, and how do they compare to past leadership models?

Join us for an in-depth discussion on the centralization of power, ideological shifts, and institutional changes under Xi Jinping—exploring their implications for China’s future and the international order.

Johnny Erling
Johnny Erling, born 1952, graduated from the University of Frankfurt/Main studied 1975/76 and 1982 at Beijing University. Most of his professional life he spent reporting from China, from 1985 until 1990 as the Beijing correspondent for a pool of daily newspapers from Germany and Austria, from 1997 to 2019 as the Beijing correspondent for the German newspaper “Die Welt” and the Austrian “Der Standard”. After more than 35 Years working in China he moved back to Germany where he lives since 2020 with his family in Bad Homburg. As a MERICS Senior Associate Fellow, he focuses on the Communist Party and domestic politics.

Erling, J. (2021). Xi Jinping: The rise of an authoritarian leader. In K. Larres (Ed.), Dictators and Autocrats (pp. 177–190). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003100508-14

This chapter is available for download here.

Jospeh Fewsmith
Joseph Fewsmith is Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the Boston University Pardee School. He is the author of seven books, including, most recently, Forging Leninism in China: Mao and the Remaking of the Chinese Communist Party, 1927-1934. Other works include Rethinking Chinese Politics (June 2021), The Logic and Limits of Political Reform in China (January 2013), and China since Tiananmen (2nd edition, 2008). Other books include Elite Politics in Contemporary China (2001), The Dilemmas of Reform in China: Political Conflict and Economic Debate (1994), and Party, State, and Local Elites in Republican China: Merchant Organizations and Politics in Shanghai, 1890-1930 (1985). He was one of the seven regular contributors to the China Leadership Monitor, a quarterly web publication analyzing current developments in China from 2002 to 2014.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fewsmith traveled to China regularly and was active in the Association for Asian Studies. His articles have appeared in such journals as Asian Survey, Comparative Studies in Society and History, The China Journal, The China Quarterly, Current History, The Journal of Contemporary China, Problems of Communism, and Modern China. He is a Center Associate of the John King Fairbank Center for China Studies at Harvard University and an associate of the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future at Boston University.
Professor Fewsmith’s areas of expertise include comparative politics as well as Chinese domestic politics and foreign policy.
https://www.bu.edu/pardeeschool/profile/joseph-fewsmith/

Jürgen Trittin
Jürgen Trittin is a former German minister, parliamentarian, speaker, and author. He studied social sciences in Göttingen, and worked as a researcher, press spokesman, and freelance journalist before entering politics. A member of Alliance 90/The Greens since 1980, Trittin served in the Lower Saxony state parliament from 1985 and was Minister for Federal and European Affairs from 1990 to 1994. He later became the federal spokesperson for the party (1994–1998) and entered the Bundestag in 1998, serving as Federal Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety until 2005. From 2009 to 2013, he chaired the Greens’ parliamentary group. After over 25 years in parliament, he stepped down on January 5, 2024.
https://www.trittin.de/ueber-mich/

Organizers:
Department of East Asian Studies, University of Göttingen
https://www.sinologie-goettingen.de
Centre for Modern East Asian Studies, University of Göttingen

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Axel Schneider
Department of East Asian Studies
University of Göttingen
https://www.sinologie-goettingen.de

Photos:
Photo: "President Jacob Zuma visits China, 2-4 Sep 2015" by GovernmentZA, licensed by CC BY-ND 2.0
Portrait Jürgen Trittin: @ Laurence Chaperon, Johnny Erling (private), Joseph Fewsmith (provate)