Description
Book SynopsisBy adopting a wide-ranging perspective, this book addresses the key issues relevant to contemporary China, providing a valuable tool with which to understand the challenges and opportunities facing political and economic actors, both domestic and foreign, over the next decades.
The book addresses key issues now subject to considerable debate, such as sustainable growth, the imbalances in society deriving from growing inequalities and environmental threats. Concluding this section is an overview of how Chinese-US relations, and China's geo-political role at the international level, have evolved at the turn of the 21st century.
The book then goes on to analyse those issues linked to the impacts of recent welfare system reforms. In particular, those impacts on the health care and pension systems, growing unemployment deriving from reform of state-owned enterprises and the related phasing out of the 'cradle-to-grave' welfare system. The closing chapter looks at the potential provided by a fast-growing insurance market in conjunction with WTO opening measures, to assess whether increased opportunities are likely to arise for foreign insurance suppliers.
Scholars of political economy and international economics as well as academics and researchers of Asian - particularly Chinese studies, will find this book of great value.
Trade Review'This well-organised, well-presented collection of essays on contemporary China not only offers a useful compendium for those who want a concentrated overview of the mainland's development, but also provides some closely-argued pointers to where the country is heading. . . The collection's editor, Maria Weber, offers an excellent introduction as well as a conclusion and an analysis of Chinese-American relations.' -- Jonathan Fenby, Asian Affairs
Table of ContentsContents: Part I: Outstanding Challenges 1. Can Rapid Economic Growth Continue? 2. Economic Growth and the ‘Luxury’ of a Clean Environment: Is a Short Cut Possible in China? 3. One, Two or Three Chinas? Evidence of Increasing Spatial Inequality from 1990 to 2000 4. US–China: A New Balance of Power in East Asia Part II: The Reform of the Welfare System 5. State-Owned Enterprises Reform and Rising Unemployment 6. Dealing with an Ageing Population in China 7. In Search of an Inclusive Public Health Care System 8. Liberalisation of Trade in Insurance Services: Widening Opportunities for Foreign Suppliers? 9. Conclusions Index
