China has achieved significant socio-economic progress and has become a key player on the international stage after several decades of open-door and reform policy. Looking beyond China's transformation, this book focusses on the theme of governance which is widely regarded as the next most critical element to ensure that China's growth remains sustainable.

Today, China is confronted with a host of pressing challenges that call for urgent attention. These include the need to rebalance and restructure the economy, the widening income gaps, the poor integration of migrant populations in the urban areas, insufficient public housing and healthcare coverage, the seeming lack of political reforms and the degree of environmental degradation. In the foreign policy arena, China is likewise under pressure to do more to address global concerns while not appearing to be overly aggressive. The next steps that China takes would have a great deal to do with governance, in terms of how it tackles or fails to address the myriad of challenges, both domestic and foreign.

China: Development and Governance, with 57 short chapters in total, is based on up-to-date scholarly research written in a readable and concise style. Besides China's domestic developments, it also covers China's external relations with the United States, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Non-specialists, in particular, should find this volume accessible and useful in keeping up with fast-changing developments in East Asia.

Contents:EditorsPreface (WANG Gungwu and ZHENG Yongnian)The Art of Governance: Managing Rising Expectations:Introduction (CHEN Gang)China's Fifth Generation Leadership: Characteristics and Policies (BO Zhiyue)Debating Political Reform: Societal Pressures and Party-State Responses (WU Guoguang)Intra-Party Democracy in Practice: Balloting for City Leaders in Jiangsu (ZHENG Yongnian and CHEN Gang)Township Government Reform: Improving Local Governance? (TAN Qingshan)Innovations in China's Local Governance: An Assessment (XIA Ming)The Impact of Market on the Grassroots Organisations of the Chinese Communist Party (Lance L P GORE)China Struggles to Maintain Stability: Strengthening its Public Security Apparatus (XIE Yue and SHAN Wei)How Secure is China's Food Security? (John WONG)China's “New Deal” in Xinjiang and its Challenges (SHAN Wei and WENG Cuifen)The Chinese Leadership and the Internet (LYE Liang Fook and Lily HONG)Women's Political Participation in China (YANG Lijun and GUO Xiajuan)Enhancing and Re-Orienting Governance to Promote Sustainable Development:Introduction (Sarah Y TONG)China Coming to the End of its High Growth (John WONG and HUANG Yanjie)China's Economy after Three Decades of Reforms: A Systems Approach (Wolfgang KLENNER)Evolving Industrial Policies in China: A Governing Tool for Development and Restructuring (Sarah Y TONG)China's Regional Development Policies (YU Hong)The 12th Five-Year Programme: A Turning Point in China's Socio-Economic Development (John WONG)Shadow Banking in China: A Call for Financial Reforms (YAO Jielu and YANG Mu)The Rise of the Renminbi as International Currency (YANG Mu and YAO Jielu)China's Local Government Debts: Thorny but Manageable (YAO Jielu)China's State-Owned Enterprises: The Dilemma of Reform (HUANG Yanjie)An Update on China's Sovereign Wealth Fund: China Investment Corporation (Catherine CHONG Siew Keng)China's Economy Remains Highly Export-Oriented (Sarah Y TONG)Rethinking the Success of China's High-Tech Exports (XING Yuqing)China's Research and Development (WU Yanrui)Are Chinese Small and Medium Enterprises Victims of Institutional Pitfalls? (CHEN Shaofeng)China as a Newly Minted Upper Middle Income Country (LU Ding)China's Labour Shortage and its Implications (HUANG Yanjie)Can China Continue to Reap its Demographic Dividend in Economic Growth? (YAN Hao)Social Transformation, Stability and Governance:Introduction (ZHAO Litao)Chinese Working Class and Trade Unions: Transformation and Predicament in the Reform Era (QI Dongtao)China's Middle Class: Still in the Making (YANG Jing)China's New Rich Posing a Challenge to Social Stability (SHENG Sixin)Non-Governmental Organisations in China: Developments and Challenges (XU Ying)Chengzhongcun in China (ZHONG Sheng)China's Hukou Reform: The Guangdong and Shanghai Cases (Courtney FU Rong)Reinventing China's Health System (QIAN Jiwei)Meeting the Ageing Challenge: China's Social Care Policy for the Elderly (ZHANG Yanxia)China's Way to Good Housing Governance (ZHOU Zhihua)China Attracting Global Top Talent: Central and Local Government Initiatives (ZHU Jinjing)China's Higher Education Reform: The Issue of Governance (ZHAO Litao)Improving Local Governance without Democratisation: Community Building in Shanghai (SHI Fayong)Rising Trend of Labour Strikes: Tables Turned for Chinese Workers? (YEW Chiew Ping)China's External Relations and Global Governance:Introduction (LYE Liang Fook)China–US Relations: Coping with a US Pivot to the Asia-Pacific Region (LYE Liang Fook)Sino–Japanese Relations: Dark and Bright Spots in an Ambivalent Relationship (LAM Peng Er)China and India: The World is Big Enough for Both (ZHAO Hong)China–South Korea Relations and Implications for China in Global Governance: Some Notes after 20 Years of Relations (CHOO Jaewoo)Comrades No More: Beijing's Evolving North Korea Policy (YUAN Jingdong)China–ASEAN Relationship: An “Offer-Response” Analysis (WANG Yuzhu)China and Singapore: An Asymmetrical but Substantive Relationship (LYE Liang Fook)China and the EU: Will China Come to the Rescue of Troubled Economies? (Kjeld Erik BRØDSGAARD)China's Diplomacy in the Middle-East (CHEN Gang and Ryan CLARKE)Will the United States Desert Taiwan? (John F COPPER)Managing Cross-Strait Economic Relations (CHIANG Min-Hua)China and the Rise of the BRICS (Anthony P SPANAKOS)China's Soft Power: Growth and Limits (LAI Hongyi)China's Efforts to Enhance its Energy Security (ZHAO Hong)The South China Sea Disputes: Current State of Play and Future Prospects (Katherine TSENG Hui-Yi)China and Global Governance (PANG Zhongying and LYE Liang Fook)IndexReadership: Academics and researchers interested in East Asian studies, students and professionals interested in gaining a deeper understanding of China, and people interested in the impact of China's policies.

Wang Gungwu