Who won? Power and factional balance in China after the 18th Congress of the CCP

The 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) brought several changes at the top leadership. A fifth generation of rulers rose to power and the new Central Committee underwent a profound reshuffle of relations between its internal factions. This paper seeks to clarify the extent to which the power balance within the Chinese political elite has changed since the 18th Congress, and the actual strength of the main factions of the CCP. The results of the research show that the analyses which emphasise the return to the centre of political arena of Jiang Zemin and his faction – the Shanghai gang – are partly overstated. Quite to the contrary, elements of continuity with the previous Chinese leadership’s line-up tend to prevail over elements of novelty.