In his reports to the party, Xi Jinping signals change subtly

Chinese Communist Party congresses are rarely occasions for dramatic policy announcements. To show consistency in the party’s line, leaders submit reports that mostly praise the party’s achievements and restate broad goals, using familiar phrases. At the start of the party’s 20th congress on October 16th, Xi Jinping stuck to convention. He did indulge in a small change of format, offering relief to the nearly 2,300 delegates in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People by reading an abridged version. Still, in his plodding delivery, it took nearly two hours.