What's a plenum? The biggest political event you don't know much about. As the fifth plenum gets under way in Beijing soon, get primed on the plenum with this primer: carnegieendowment.org/china/…

Don't even try to be a leader of a BRIC country if you can't bring home a fourth term. Different political systems, same presidents

Weekend reading The Spring and Autumn of Chinese Politics The weathervane of Chinese politics shifts the most in the spring and autumn. Generally speaking, spring is when major policies are decided, usually at the National People’s Congress (NPC), while autumn is when politics are front and center, typically at the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Committee plenary sessions, or plenums. The Fifth Plenum of the 20th Central Committee, slated for October 26, is one of these occasions. It will likely be an unusually potent barometer of the direction of Chinese politics because this Fifth Plenum essentially kicks off the political transition that culminates in the selection of new top leaders of the CCP at the 21st Party Congress in October 2027. The coming year, then, is as close to a “campaign season” as the Chinese system has, with a hefty dose of Leninist characteristics. Personnel movements will intensify, party discipline will tighten, and political jostling and horse trading will take place. Much of that process, as is well known by now, will be predictably opaque. Outcomes may be difficult to see immediately, but the absence of observable evidence does not mean evidence of absence when it comes to Chinese politics. Personnel matters, in fact, tend to matter more than other indicators for assessing how the CCP top brass is thinking about its future... Full piece at link below @CarnegieChina

What's more important than the U.S. midterms? China's major political transition, or "Selection 2027". It kicks off with the upcoming plenum through next October. My primer on Chinese campaign season with Leninist characteristics @CarnegieChina carnegieendowment.org/china/…

No actual knowledge gain for the wonk/analyst and the informed cognoscenti on chips - but that's never been the New Yorker's schtick. You've just gotta marvel at the superb story-telling and beautifully wrought sentences such as this: "The Apollo mission’s chips were less powerful than those currently inside a digital pregnancy test. We squander moon-landing capability to display a plus sign." newyorker.com/magazine/2026/…

and costs less than many Substacks

Much more impressive version of the math card game "24" my mom used to play with me when I was a kid. Each person holds half the deck, puts out 2 random cards at a time, and you must use all four cards to calculate 24. The competition is about who gets to 24 the fastest. The winner has no cards left and the loser holds all the cards because they were too slow in calculating.