China's Leap into the Heart of the Twenty First Century

Abstract

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is in the midst of a transformation of global significance. From a closed economy in which the state was the only economic actor of significance, China has moved rapidly towards a system that the Communist Party of China (CPC) defines as market socialism, where a sizeable state sector exists side by side with private enterprises and foreign investors. China's leap will lift the most populous country on earth into the heart of politics and economics in the coming century, a reality to which we must all adjust.