China faces growing internal and external calls for economic and political reforms. Expert Minxin Pei looks at the political transition under way and discusses prospects for change.

If President Xi Jinping hopes to extend his leadership beyond two terms, he must prevent the Communist Party from selecting a successor in the coming months.

Elizabeth C. Economy, the C.V. Starr senior fellow and director of Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, says there has been “a sea change” in the administration’s policies toward China. …