Chinese Politics in the Hu Jintao Era: New Leaders New Challenges

Drawing on hundreds of interviews with top Chinese officials parliamentarians scholars and businessmen Willy Lam a renowned journalist and writer on Chinese affairs presents a first-hand multi-dimensional account of twenty-first century China and the impact of fourth generation leaders including President Hu Jinato and Premier Wen Jiabao. Lam goes behind the glitzy facade of nouveau-riche Beijing and Shanghai to examine how the Hu leadership has tried to extend the Communist Party's mandate of heaven by tackling an array of daunting problems: the weakening legitimacy of the Party's leadership; restive peasants; angry workers; political stagnation over the lack of reform; foreign relations difficulties; unreliable energy supplies; resurgent nationalism; and the increasingly dubious Chinese model of development. The author assesses possible contributions that the new classes of private businessmen professionals and intellectuals - as well as new ideas such as nationalism globalization and federalism - will make to economic prosperity and political liberalization. The book also includes a chapter on foreign policy which contains an insightful account of Beijing's evolving and sometimes difficult relations with the United States Europe Japan and other major countries and blocs as well as the role of the People's Liberation Army.