Podcast with Joseph Torigian, author of “The Party’s Interests Come First”

Xi Zhongxun’s career spanned the entirety of China’s modern history. Born just two years after the 1911revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty, Xi was an early member of the Chinese Communist Party, took part in the Second World War, became an early leader of the PRC, was purged, survived the Cultural Revolution, was rehabilitated, and helped jumpstart China’s opening up as a leader in Guangdong Province.

He also happened to be the father of Xi Jinping, China’s current president. Joseph Torigian has written an extensive biography of Xi Zhongxun, titled The Party’s Interests Come First:The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping. And he joins us today to talk through Xi’s long and very eventful life.

Joseph is Associate Professor at the School of International Service at American University and a Research Fellow at the Hoover History Lab at Stanford University.

Nicholas Gordon has an MPhil from Oxford in International Relations and a BA from Harvard. He is a writer, editor and occasional radio host based in Hong Kong.