Whither China? Restarting the Reform Agenda

How has China been able to maintain high-speed economic growth during the last thirty-plus years and successfully transform itself from a poor, backward, and developing country to become the world's second-largest economy? What are the challenges that China faces today and how will she deal with them in order to continue moving toward a truly prosperous and modern society? Standing at a crossroads today, what future direction should China choose: a free market economy or state capitalism?

In a series of penetrating dialogues, Wu Jinglian, China's most celebrated and influential economist, and Ma Guochuan, chief commentator of Caijing Magazine, attempt to address the following question: "Where is China going?" This volume offers critical insights into the historical evolution of China's ongoing economic and social transformation. Strongly reflecting Professor Wu's views on the future prospects of the economic reforms, the book provides readers with a deep and lucid understanding of the social and economic issues now confronting China, analyzes their underlying causes, and examines the serious challenges to implementing further reforms.

Professor Wu argues that the only way to escape the various social ills in China today is to restart the economic and political reforms, which began thirty years ago but have slowed down during the recent decade, and to move China in the direction of a market economy, the rule of law, and democracy.

For more than thirty years, Wu Jinglian has been widely regarded as China's most celebrated and influential economist. Wu graduated from the Department of Economics of Fudan University in 1954. He is currently Senior Research Fellow at the Development Research Center under the State Council of the People's Republic of China, and Bao Steel Chair Professor of Economics at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). His main research interests include comparative institutional analysis, and the theory and policy on the transformation of Chinese society. He won the "Outstanding Contribution to China's Economy Award" in 2005 and was awarded "Honorary President of the International Economic Association" (IEA) in 2011.

Ma Guochuan is the Chief Commentator of Caijing (Economist Journal) Magazine.

Xiaofeng Hua is a retiree from the World Bank. She has worked on economic development issues related to China and other Asian and African countries for the last thirty years.

Nancy Hearst is Research Librarian in the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies Collection of the Fung Library at Harvard University. She is also a free-lance editor for social-science books on contemporary China, and has been visiting China regularly since 1980.