China 2022: The 20th Party Congress and Popular Discontent in Xi Jinping’s China

The most significant issue of 2022 in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held from 16 to 22 October 2022. The outcome was unprecedented: after a decade in office, Xi Jinping was confirmed for a third mandate as the general secretary of the CCP. The other equally important phenomenon concerns China’s COVID-19 control strategy and its impact on Chinese society. While seemingly unrelated, there is a link between these two important developments. Whereas in the first half of the year China’s ability to lock down entire cities appeared to be a successful strategy to maintain consent and to prevent the spread of COVID-19 casualties on the Chinese territory, it was precisely the weaknesses and failures of the same zero-COVID policy that most challenged the newly confirmed leadership of Xi Jinping.