Understanding China Today

Abstract

Twenty-three papers analyze China's foreign, domestic, and security policies and consider China's economy, financial and judicial systems, demographics, the "Chinese dream," and Chinese history and culture. Papers discuss China and the rest of the world--symmetries and "games of mirrors"; the European Union and China--the myth versus reality of a (not so) "strategic partnership"; relations between China and India--the steps from Bandung to the "New Silk Road"; whether Russia and China are partners or competitors--views from Russia; Sino-Japanese relations in the Xi-Abe era; the relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States; Italian-Chinese relations beyond business; China in Africa--challenges and opportunities; enemies, friends, and comrades-in-arms--the awkward relations between the German Democratic Republic and China in the 1980s; China's foreign policy and ideational narratives--key trends and major challenges; the question of national egoism or cooperation in providing global public goods--China's foreign economic strategy under review; Chinese population policies--moving toward a free choice; the Chinese banking and financial system--a fast-paced evolution journey; Chinese multinationals in Europe; sustainability and law assessing--the new "green rules" for foreign companies doing business in China; the issue of political reform and the evolution of the "Deng Xiaoping model" in Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping's China; the path from "Chinese characteristics" to "Chinese dream"--Chinese political discourse today; a genre-based analysis of institutional discourse on government information disclosure in China; the question of a portal or a mirror--the reporting of foreign countries in China Daily; Confucianism, communism, and democracy--a "triangular" struggle in China--reflections on Italy's historical experience with cultural reform; Italy's policies toward, and relations with, China from 1937 to 1945; human-resource management in China--an Italian Perspective; and fa versus guanxi--legality with Chinese characteristics and its implications for Italian business in China. Beretta and Berkofsky are with the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Pavia. Zhang is at the East China University of Political Science and Law. No index.