China's Future: Direction and Dilemmas

by Michael Dillon

How long can China’s economic growth continue at its present rate? and What direction will China’s economy, society and political structure take in future? are key questions debated both within China and by China watchers worldwide. Although reforms such as the partial privatisation of state-owned firms, the return of agricultural land to farmers, increased urbanisation and high economic growth rates have changed the face of much of China, the country and its rulers face many major challenges, both internally and externally. This book provides an analysis of the key problems and policy dilemmas that China is likely to face in the remainder of the twenty-first century. It draws on and summarises the work of scholars who consider China’s future, and analyses current trends and likely future directions, covering wide range of issues including economic growth, land and rural life, society and social change, the environment, law and human rights, China’s territorial integrity, and government and politics.

Hardcover

First published December 31, 2019

About the author

Michael Dillon is a China specialist with expertise in teaching the history, politics and society of the Chinese world and the Chinese language. He was founding Director of the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Durham, where he taught courses on modern China in the Department of East Asian Studies. He has a BA and PhD in Chinese Studies from Leeds University and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Asiatic Society. He is a peer reviewer for academic publishers and journals including China Quarterly, Ethnic and Racial Studies, and Inner Asia and is guest editor for a forthcoming special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies focussing on Chinese ethnicity. He is a frequent commentator on Chinese and Asian affairs for the BBC and other international broadcasters, contributes to the Times Literary Supplement and was a consultant for China, a four-part television documentary directed by Jonathan Lewis for BBC2, Granada and PBS (USA).

He reads Chinese fluently, speaks Putonghua (Mandarin) and some Cantonese and has a working knowledge of the Uyghur language of Xinjiang.