This volume presents a timely assessment of the Hu–Wen Administration at the juncture of preparing a change of China’s leadership in 2012–13. The assessment is important because the administration’s apparent success tends to create a path-dependent orientation on the part of its successor.

Bringing together a collection of nineteen major essays, this book offers a fresh perspective of evaluating the performance and achievements of China in the Hu–Wen era in terms of economic development, the establishment of a rudimentary social security system and her rising international status. The new opportunities and challenges facing China, and how will the likely successors Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang handle those opportunities and challenges, as well as new policy programmes will also be discussed in greater detail. Each essay is written by experts and scholars from different academic disciplines and backgrounds to provide readers with a unique overview of their respective areas of expertise.

This book will provide a platform for further informed deliberations among academics, students, corporate executives and professionals who are interested in China’s development.