Table Of ContentTHE NOTTINGHAM CHINA POLICY INSTITUTE SERIES
Series Editors: S. Yao and S. Tsang
CHINA IN THE
XI JINPING ERA
Edited by Steve Tsang
and Honghua Men
The Nottingham China Policy Institute Series
Series Editors
Shujie Yao
School of Contemporary Chinese Studies
University of Nottingham
Nottingham, UK
Steve Tsang
School of Contemporary Chinese Studies
University of Nottingham
Nottingham, UK
Aims of the Series
Th e Nottingham China Policy Institute series brings cutting edge schol-
arship, policy relevance and accessibility together. It includes works on
the economics, society, culture, politics, international relations, national
security and history of the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong in
the twentieth and twenty-fi rst centuries. Books in this series are written
in an accessible style though they are based on meticulous research. Th ey
put forward exciting ideas and research fi ndings that specialist academics
need to take note of while policy makers and opinion leaders will fi nd
inspiring. Th ey represent innovative multidisciplinary scholarship at its
best in the study of contemporary China.
More information about this series at
http://www.springer.com/series/14423
Steve T sang • Honghua Men
Editors
China in the Xi
Jinping Era
Editors
Steve Tsang Honghua Men
School of Contemporary Chinese Studies Central Party School, Beijing and
University of Nottingham Tongji University, Shanghai
United Kingdom China
Translation from the Chinese language edition: C hina’s Strategy in the Coming Decade by
Honghua Men and Steve Tsang, © China Economics Publishers 2015. All Rights Reserved.
Th e Nottingham China Policy Institute Series
ISBN 978-3-319-29548-0 ISBN 978-3-319-29549-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29549-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016943532
© Th e Editor(s) (if applicable) and Th e Author(s) 2016
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Prefa ce
Th is book is the product of a collaborative project between the China
Policy Institute at the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the
University of Nottingham and the Institute for International Strategic
Studies at the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China.
It started as delegates from the Central Party School and Nottingham
engaged in frank and constructive dialogues beyond the formal proceed-
ings of a Wilton Park conference in December 2012. What triggered
this discussion were the invaluable and timely exchanges that consti-
tuted the formal proceedings of the conference entitled ‘Implications and
Opportunities of the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China’.
I t was at Wilton Park that Steve Tsang and Honghua Men worked out a
preliminary plan to conduct a joint project to examine the strategic direc-
tions that the Xi Jinping Administration would follow, and to explore
options and opportunities that it might like to or should consider. Th is
proposal quickly received the support of Professor Baojiang Han, then
the Director of the Chinese Institute for International Strategic Studies.
Th e focus of this book and the end product is to examine and explain
the thinking of the Chinese leadership, the forces within China that
shape their approach, and where and how further improvements can be
made during the Xi Jinping decade. It is not about whether contributors
approve or disapprove of the Chinese approach.
v
vi Preface
Th e collaboration took Tsang to the Central Party School. A group
of colleagues from there and a few highly selected others from diff erent
Chinese institutions then gathered in Nottingham for intensive brain-
storming and research. Th e working language for the exchanges and col-
laboration was Mandarin. Th e exchanges and debates were open, critical,
and frank. Th e atmosphere was friendly and highly conducive to debate;
and debate we did. All members of the research team regardless of nation-
ality presented their research fi ndings and received direct and critical
comments in a respectful and highly constructive spirit. Both sides take
the view that it was Sino-British intellectual cooperation at its best.
Th e papers that form the main body of this volume were presented
at a conference in Nottingham in early 2014. Th ey were subsequently
revised, some quite substantially, after taking into account the debates
that took place at the Si Yuan Centre at the University of Nottingham. In
addition to the colleagues from the Central Party School and the China
Policy Institute who were directly involved in this collaborative project,
a number of other delegates from outside the two hosting institutions
were also invited to join this special conference, conducted behind closed
doors under the Chatham House rule. Th e contributions by the Chinese
colleagues were written in Chinese and translated into English. Th ose
contributions by British colleagues were written in English and then
translated for a Chinese edition of this book.
Th e contributions by our Chinese colleagues, particularly those based
at the Central Party School, also enable readers to understand better the
thinking and arguments of an important group of scholars who work in an
institution that supports the Central Committee of the Communist Party
of China. Readers should not assume that views articulated by professors
at the Central Party School represent that of the School or the Chinese
leadership. Th ey do not. What their contributions provide, in addition to
the scholarly insights, is how the particular subjects are being approached
by leading Chinese scholars whose views are generally taken very seriously
by top level policy makers in China. Th eir style of presentation also dif-
fers from that taken regularly by scholars working at leading universities
in the English-speaking world, but they adopt such a style because it is
more eff ective in China, the context in which they work on a daily basis.
Providing a glimpse into this is an additional value of this volume.
Preface vii
A s we bring this collaborative project to its logical conclusion, we,
as editors, decided to publish this book in both the Chinese language
and the English language. Th e Chinese edition was released fi rst under
the title China’s Strategy in the Coming Decade by China Economic
Publishing House in June 2015. Th e two editions are not identical as the
diff erent timeframes for fi nalising the text gave scope for some updating
and adjustments to be made in the English edition. We have also orga-
nized and structured the two editions slightly diff erently. Th e Chinese
edition was also able to be released sooner as the publication cycle in
China is much shorter than that for academic volumes in the English
speaking world, which we were particularly keen to ensure in order to
make the insights gained available to the Chinese authorities, colleagues,
and general readers as soon as possible. We and our fellow contributors
are specialists on China and fully committed to help China develop and
move forward in the best possible way, and to assist readers not familiar
with some elements of the inner workings of the Chinese system. We see
our work in this volume as a contribution to this cause.
In conducting the research and bringing the fi ndings to print, we have
received generous support and help from various individuals and insti-
tutions. Above all, we would like to thank Baojiang Han, the former
Director of the Institute for International Strategic Studies at the Central
Party School. He not only contributed intellectually as a member of the
research team and as an author to this volume but also lent the institu-
tional support that made this collaboration possible. We are also deeply
grateful to all our colleagues on the research team whose contributions
constitute the main body of this book. Th ey have responded promptly
and effi ciently to queries about their works and other editorial matters
repeatedly in a spirit of understanding and forbearance.
We are much indebted to those colleagues who shared their criti-
cal comments on our preliminary fi ndings at the Nottingham confer-
ence. Th ey are Julie Chen, Miwa Hirono, Niv Horesh, Hong-yi Lai,
Chun-yi Lee, Nicola Macbean, Tyler Rooker, Ian Seckington, Lina Song,
Jonathan Sullivan, Patricia Th ornton, Zhengxu Wang, Peter Wickenden,
Qianlan Wu, Qing Yang, and Shujie Yao. We are also grateful to Hua
Geddes, Tessa Schofi eld, and the incredibly able and reliable team of
administrators at the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies who
viii Preface
ensured this project and the conference worked like clockwork. Louise
Woodward also helped with the preparation of the fi nal typescript. Last
but not least, we would like to thank Royal Dutch Shell and the Foreign
and Commonwealth Offi ce for providing support for the Nottingham
Conference. Cho Khong in particular was invaluable in helping to secure
the funding from Shell. Th eir generous support for scholarship and Sino-
British research collaboration has enabled this project to progress well
and come to fruition.
Steve Tsang
Honghua Men
Contents
1 Genesis of a Pivotal Decade 1
Honghua Men and Steve Tsang
2 Consolidating Political and Governance Strength 17
Steve Tsang
3 Enhancing Credibility and Transparency Th rough
Judicial Reforms 41
Lifeng Wang
4 Th e Logic and Limits of the Party’s Social
Management Approach in Maintaining Stability:
Lessons from Bismarck 71
Andreas Fulda
5 Forging a Harmonious Relationship Among
the Ethnic Groups 97
Lei Zhao
ix
