Interpreting china's development

by Wang Gungwu (Editor), John Wong (Editor)

In Interpreting China's Development, leading experts on China provide an overview of this growing superpower, highlighting key issues in the country's political, economic and social development. Underpinned by up-to-date scholarly research yet written in a readable and concise style, this volume of over 40 short chapters offers a very accessible way to understanding the major events and dominant issues that had emerged in China over the last few decades. The essays are grouped under four thematic sections - challenges of governance, growth and structural changes, coping with rising social problems and relations with major powers and neighbours -covering salient topics such as the emerging mode of leadership succession, sustainability of China's high growth, widening inequalities, environmental crisis and the external impact of China's rise. Non-specialists in particular, should find this volume useful in keeping up with China's fast changing developments.

282 pages, Paperback

First published June 4, 2007

About the author

Wang Gungwu is an academic who has studied and written about the Chinese diaspora, although he has objected to the use of the word diaspora to describe the migration of Chinese from China, because it is inaccurate and has been used to perpetuate fears of a "Chinese threat". He was born in Surabaya, Indonesia, and grew up in Ipoh, Malaysia. He completed his secondary education in Anderson School, Ipoh before going to the university.

He studied history in the University of Malaya, Singapore, where he received both his Bachelor and Masters degrees. He holds a Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (1957) for his thesis on The structure of power in North China during the Five Dynasties. He taught at the University of Malaya (in both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur) before going to Canberra in 1968 to become Professor of Far Eastern History in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS) at Australian National University. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1995. In 2007, Wang became the third person to be named University Professor by the National University of Singapore.