Conclusion

Summary

Looking in detail at how the four leaders of China during the reform period came to power, how they consolidated power (or not), and their (weak) ability to pass on power, they all reflect not institutionalization but the Leninist framework in which they have worked. One factor that, in various ways, seems important across these four decades is the military. The fact that both Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin held on to the chairmanship of the CMC after giving up their party positions is highly telling. More recently, Xi Jinping has reorganized the military with an eye both to improving military operations and to strengthening personal control.