Analysing post-Mao China is not an easy task, but it is essential in order to understand the rationale and scope of the reform process started by the Chinese leadership under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping at the end of the 1970s. Thirty years after the beginning of the reform process China has become a major actor in the global economic and political system and the 21st century is generally held to the one in which China will become the major world power.

In this book Paolo Urio presents a balanced picture of the reform process, analysing the economic, social, environmental, legal, political and cultural aspects of the process and showing the interconnections between them. As well as analysing the achievements realised thus far by the reform process, this book looks ahead at the difficulties the Chinese leadership will have to face in the years to come. As such, it will be essential reading for students and scholars of Chinese politics, public management and economics alike.

Analysing post-Mao China is not an easy task, but it is essential in order to understand the rationale and scope of the reform process started by the Chinese leadership under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping at the end of the 1970s. Thirty years after the beginning of the reform process China has become a major actor in the global economic and political system and the 21st century is generally held to the one in which China will become the major world power.

In this book Paolo Urio presents a balanced picture of the reform process, analysing the economic, social, environmental, legal, political and cultural aspects of the process and showing the interconnections between them. As well as analysing the achievements realised thus far by the reform process, this book looks ahead at the difficulties the Chinese leadership will have to face in the years to come. As such, it will be essential reading for students and scholars of Chinese politics, public management and economics alike.

In the West, innovations in new public management (NPM) have been regarded as part of the neoliberal project, whilst in China, these reforms have emerged from a very different economic and social landscape. Despite these differences however, similar measures to those introduced in the West have been adopted by the Chinese state, which has largely abandoned the planned economy and adopted market mechanisms in the pursuit of improved economic efficiency and growth.

Evaluating the results of these reforms in both China and the West between 1978 and 2011, this book shows that despite substantial improvements in economic efficiency in both cases under consideration, there have been considerable negative impacts on the distribution of wealth, access to public services, levels of poverty, public health, and the incidence of crime. Further, this book explores the different results of NPM in China and the West and the conclusions Paolo Urio draws have timely significance, as he suggests that China has been able to change its policies more rapidly and thus more effectively respond to the challenges posed by the current economic crisis.

Drawing on both Western and Chinese sources, this innovative book compares the consequences of their public management reforms, taking into account the impact on both the economy and society. As such, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars working in the fields of Chinese studies, Asian studies, business, economics, strategic public management and comparative studies in capitalism and socialism.

In the West, innovations in new public management (NPM) have been regarded as part of the neoliberal project, whilst in China, these reforms have emerged from a very different economic and social landscape. Despite these differences however, similar measures to those introduced in the West have been adopted by the Chinese state, which has largely abandoned the planned economy and adopted market mechanisms in the pursuit of improved economic efficiency and growth.

Evaluating the results of these reforms in both China and the West between 1978 and 2011, this book shows that despite substantial improvements in economic efficiency in both cases under consideration, there have been considerable negative impacts on the distribution of wealth, access to public services, levels of poverty, public health, and the incidence of crime. Further, this book explores the different results of NPM in China and the West and the conclusions Paolo Urio draws have timely significance, as he suggests that China has been able to change its policies more rapidly and thus more effectively respond to the challenges posed by the current economic crisis.

Drawing on both Western and Chinese sources, this innovative book compares the consequences of their public management reforms, taking into account the impact on both the economy and society. As such, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars working in the fields of Chinese studies, Asian studies, business, economics, strategic public management and comparative studies in capitalism and socialism.

Using both Chinese and Western theoretical approaches, this book analyses the strategies implemented by China for reclaiming power in the international domain. Examining domestic measures taken by China to assure its economic and social development, it also considers the strengths and weaknesses of its major international opponent, the US, and analyses their competing approaches to developing power resources and leadership dominance. It studies the foreign policies of both China and the US, first by going back to the historical origins of their ideological foundations and secondly by analysing their power building from the nineteenth century to the Trump and Xi Jinping presidencies. Finally, this book focuses on the One Belt One Road Initiative as China’s response to putting an end to the ‘world America made’ and debates the question of whether China will emerge as a new capitalist country embedded in the liberal capitalist world system, or as an authoritarian state with a socialist market economy, able to change the rules of the international order.

Providing a comparison of the two major world powers and a comprehensive overview of their relationship, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Chinese politics and international relations, as well as Chinese Studies more generally.

Using both Chinese and Western theoretical approaches, this book analyses the strategies implemented by China for reclaiming power in the international domain. Examining domestic measures taken by China to assure its economic and social development, it also considers the strengths and weaknesses of its major international opponent, the US, and analyses their competing approaches to developing power resources and leadership dominance. It studies the foreign policies of both China and the US, first by going back to the historical origins of their ideological foundations and secondly by analysing their power building from the nineteenth century to the Trump and Xi Jinping presidencies. Finally, this book focuses on the One Belt One Road Initiative as China’s response to putting an end to the ‘world America made’ and debates the question of whether China will emerge as a new capitalist country embedded in the liberal capitalist world system, or as an authoritarian state with a socialist market economy, able to change the rules of the international order.

Providing a comparison of the two major world powers and a comprehensive overview of their relationship, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Chinese politics and international relations, as well as Chinese Studies more generally.

The second edition of this book (updated to February 24, 2024) presents a comprehensive evaluation of the strategy implemented by China to manage its modernization process. The author evaluates to what extent the economy has been developed, whether the imbalances due to the priority given to economic development have been corrected, and whether the improvements of science and technology have allowed China to develop world class high-tech sectors and a modern defence. Clearly, the end of the XX Century saw the fulfilment of Zhou En Lai ‘four modernizations’, i.e. the acquisition of power resources that fulfilled Mao’s proud 1949 statement: ‘we stood up’, thereby projecting China into the international arena as a re-emerging world power. The author insists on the fundamental difference between American and Chinese ideologies as the main drivers of their foreign policy, i.e., the extreme rigidity of the former compared to the remarkable flexibility and adaptability of the latter. He further explains the consequences of the increasingly aggressive American foreign policy, i.e. the US pretence to act as the leader of the existential struggle between ‘democracy and dictatorship’.  This posture reached its apex during the Ukrainian and the Middle East crises, that unveiled the irreversible decline of the West, and have become two formidable accelerators of the transition from the unipolar world ‘América made’ to the multipolar world promoted by China, Russia and the BRICS.

Analysing post-Mao China is not an easy task, but it is essential in order to understand the rationale and scope of the reform process started by the Chinese leadership under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping at the end of the 1970s. Thirty years after the beginning of the reform process China has become a major actor in the global economic and political system and the 21st century is generally held to the one in which China will become the major world power.

In this book Paolo Urio presents a balanced picture of the reform process, analysing the economic, social, environmental, legal, political and cultural aspects of the process and showing the interconnections between them. As well as analysing the achievements realised thus far by the reform process, this book looks ahead at the difficulties the Chinese leadership will have to face in the years to come. As such, it will be essential reading for students and scholars of Chinese politics, public management and economics alike.

Analysing post-Mao China is not an easy task, but it is essential in order to understand the rationale and scope of the reform process started by the Chinese leadership under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping at the end of the 1970s. Thirty years after the beginning of the reform process China has become a major actor in the global economic and political system and the 21st century is generally held to the one in which China will become the major world power.

In this book Paolo Urio presents a balanced picture of the reform process, analysing the economic, social, environmental, legal, political and cultural aspects of the process and showing the interconnections between them. As well as analysing the achievements realised thus far by the reform process, this book looks ahead at the difficulties the Chinese leadership will have to face in the years to come. As such, it will be essential reading for students and scholars of Chinese politics, public management and economics alike.

In the West, innovations in new public management (NPM) have been regarded as part of the neoliberal project, whilst in China, these reforms have emerged from a very different economic and social landscape. Despite these differences however, similar measures to those introduced in the West have been adopted by the Chinese state, which has largely abandoned the planned economy and adopted market mechanisms in the pursuit of improved economic efficiency and growth.

Evaluating the results of these reforms in both China and the West between 1978 and 2011, this book shows that despite substantial improvements in economic efficiency in both cases under consideration, there have been considerable negative impacts on the distribution of wealth, access to public services, levels of poverty, public health, and the incidence of crime. Further, this book explores the different results of NPM in China and the West and the conclusions Paolo Urio draws have timely significance, as he suggests that China has been able to change its policies more rapidly and thus more effectively respond to the challenges posed by the current economic crisis.

Drawing on both Western and Chinese sources, this innovative book compares the consequences of their public management reforms, taking into account the impact on both the economy and society. As such, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars working in the fields of Chinese studies, Asian studies, business, economics, strategic public management and comparative studies in capitalism and socialism.

In the West, innovations in new public management (NPM) have been regarded as part of the neoliberal project, whilst in China, these reforms have emerged from a very different economic and social landscape. Despite these differences however, similar measures to those introduced in the West have been adopted by the Chinese state, which has largely abandoned the planned economy and adopted market mechanisms in the pursuit of improved economic efficiency and growth.

Evaluating the results of these reforms in both China and the West between 1978 and 2011, this book shows that despite substantial improvements in economic efficiency in both cases under consideration, there have been considerable negative impacts on the distribution of wealth, access to public services, levels of poverty, public health, and the incidence of crime. Further, this book explores the different results of NPM in China and the West and the conclusions Paolo Urio draws have timely significance, as he suggests that China has been able to change its policies more rapidly and thus more effectively respond to the challenges posed by the current economic crisis.

Drawing on both Western and Chinese sources, this innovative book compares the consequences of their public management reforms, taking into account the impact on both the economy and society. As such, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars working in the fields of Chinese studies, Asian studies, business, economics, strategic public management and comparative studies in capitalism and socialism.

Using both Chinese and Western theoretical approaches, this book analyses the strategies implemented by China for reclaiming power in the international domain. Examining domestic measures taken by China to assure its economic and social development, it also considers the strengths and weaknesses of its major international opponent, the US, and analyses their competing approaches to developing power resources and leadership dominance. It studies the foreign policies of both China and the US, first by going back to the historical origins of their ideological foundations and secondly by analysing their power building from the nineteenth century to the Trump and Xi Jinping presidencies. Finally, this book focuses on the One Belt One Road Initiative as China’s response to putting an end to the ‘world America made’ and debates the question of whether China will emerge as a new capitalist country embedded in the liberal capitalist world system, or as an authoritarian state with a socialist market economy, able to change the rules of the international order.

Providing a comparison of the two major world powers and a comprehensive overview of their relationship, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Chinese politics and international relations, as well as Chinese Studies more generally.

Using both Chinese and Western theoretical approaches, this book analyses the strategies implemented by China for reclaiming power in the international domain. Examining domestic measures taken by China to assure its economic and social development, it also considers the strengths and weaknesses of its major international opponent, the US, and analyses their competing approaches to developing power resources and leadership dominance. It studies the foreign policies of both China and the US, first by going back to the historical origins of their ideological foundations and secondly by analysing their power building from the nineteenth century to the Trump and Xi Jinping presidencies. Finally, this book focuses on the One Belt One Road Initiative as China’s response to putting an end to the ‘world America made’ and debates the question of whether China will emerge as a new capitalist country embedded in the liberal capitalist world system, or as an authoritarian state with a socialist market economy, able to change the rules of the international order.

Providing a comparison of the two major world powers and a comprehensive overview of their relationship, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Chinese politics and international relations, as well as Chinese Studies more generally.

The second edition of this book (updated to February 24, 2024) presents a comprehensive evaluation of the strategy implemented by China to manage its modernization process. The author evaluates to what extent the economy has been developed, whether the imbalances due to the priority given to economic development have been corrected, and whether the improvements of science and technology have allowed China to develop world class high-tech sectors and a modern defence. Clearly, the end of the XX Century saw the fulfilment of Zhou En Lai ‘four modernizations’, i.e. the acquisition of power resources that fulfilled Mao’s proud 1949 statement: ‘we stood up’, thereby projecting China into the international arena as a re-emerging world power. The author insists on the fundamental difference between American and Chinese ideologies as the main drivers of their foreign policy, i.e., the extreme rigidity of the former compared to the remarkable flexibility and adaptability of the latter. He further explains the consequences of the increasingly aggressive American foreign policy, i.e. the US pretence to act as the leader of the existential struggle between ‘democracy and dictatorship’.  This posture reached its apex during the Ukrainian and the Middle East crises, that unveiled the irreversible decline of the West, and have become two formidable accelerators of the transition from the unipolar world ‘América made’ to the multipolar world promoted by China, Russia and the BRICS.