중국공산당의 정치개혁은 퇴보하는가: 시진핑 시기 당내 민주의 변화와 지속성

This paper aims to analyze the recent consolidation of Xi Jinping’s power in the context of political reform of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and reason out its implications. After Reform and Opening Up, the CCP needed to adapt to the changing society, secure its legitimacy and reinforce its ruling power. Therefore, the CCP has practiced political reform focused on intra-democracy since 16th Party Congress in 2002. Intra-democracy in the CCP’s collective leadership consists of two parts: a stable power succession, based on term limits and age limits, and a democratic management system, based on checks and compromises between political factions. Those mechanisms of intra-democracy are still functioning in the Xi Jinping era, which explains that the consolidation of Xi’s power is the result of the agreement in the CCP. In other words, it is a short-term change to efficiently deal with challenges the CCP is facing.