Despite the significant progress it had achieved in the past 60 years, especially in the past 30 years since Deng Xiaoping's reform initiatives in the late 1970's, China faces daunting challenges today. These challenges include, among others, a rigid political system that does not match economic vibrancy, uneven economic growth and widening income gap, a graying population, environmental degradation, potential social instability, ethnic tensions and separatist movement, poor international image, and military modernization. Based on papers originally presented at an international conference held... |