China

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes the rapid pace of economic and political change in China, explaining that both have shifted into was seems to be an on-going expansion into a capitalist system. The paper contends that, since all of the early reforms, a new class of wealthy and prosperous Chinese has emerged, not to mention the great growth of the Chinese middle class, which is now comparable to that in the United States. The paper describes how China has changed from a socialist society that restricted private lives and affairs to a consumer society with increased economic freedom and individual participation.

From the Paper:

"A second influence from China's past that continues to manifest itself in contemporary Chinese politics is the influence of what is known as guanxi, "a network of patron/client ties that stretch from the top to the bottom of the Chinese political hierarchy." 4 This concept clearly reveals that such connections can be explained in terms of the relationship between the major figures and the secondary/tertiary figures in the Chinese political system. With this in mind, the Cultural Revolution is a splendid example of Mao's manipulation of the guanxi system and his elimination of his rivals, such as Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping. Interestingly enough, the obvious failure of Hua Guofeng to bring about his position as Mao's successor between 1977 and 1979 can be traced to his somewhat lacking guanxi connections within the party/state hierarchy; in contrast, Deng Xiaoping who possessed a very wide and complex guanxi network quickly took over as the leader of China following the death of Mao Tse-tung."

More papers on China:

• Book Review # 67572 : "Doing Business with China"
• Research Paper # 116858 : "U.S.-China Trade Relations"
• Essay # 137311 : "The Significance of the Greater China Trading Region and Its Relationship to Mainland China’s FDI Reform"
• Essay # 67592 : "Understanding China"

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