“Xi is a hard-core Communist and he is concerned with holding on to power,” says Ed Cox, who as President Richard Nixon’s son-in-law, had a front-row seat to history following Nixon’s historic 1972 visit to The People’s Republic of China. Cox, a former head of the New York Republican State Committee and a Trustee of CED, the public policy arm of The Conference Board, met or had dealings with Deng Xiaoping (“a fascinating man” and a chain smoker) and many of China’s most influential leaders. In a new episode of CEO Perspectives, The Conference Board President and CEO Steve Odland sits down with Cox for a second half-hour discussion of China: past, present, and future. Tune in for insights on:

 

• The two Chinas: There remains a split between urban, developed and rural, agricultural China even today, despite the Belt and Roads initiative.
• Dissolution of the Soviet Union: With Russia splintered, “who is then the main antagonist?” asks Cox. The answer: The United States.
• What China’s slow economic growth may mean: Would Xi make military moves against Taiwan in order to shore up nationalist sentiment?