1st Edition
China's Economic Development Decoding and Reframing its Rise
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Tables and Figures
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
1. KEY DEBATES ON CHINA’S DEVELOPMENT
1.1 Historical Background of China
1.2 Unsettled Debates of China’s Development
1.3 Concept of Development
1.4 Scientific Contributions
1.5 Research Methodology
1.5.1 Document Analysis
1.6 The structure of the book
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS
2.1 Introduction
2.2 On the Idea of Catch-up
2.2.1 Modernisation Theory
2.2.2 Dependency Theory
2.2.3 Theory of Uneven and Combined Development
2.3 Expectations of China’s developmental outcomes
2.4 China’s Developmental Model
2.4.1 Modernisation Theory
2.4.2 Developmental State Theory
2.5 Expectations of Chinese development model
2.6 Conclusion
3. CHINA’S INTEGRATION INTO THE GLOBAL ECONOMY: PROGRESS OR UNDERDEVELOPMENT?
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Dependency Theory on Underdevelopment of China
3.2.1 Foreign economic relations
3.2.2 Technology Development
3.2.3 Summary
3.3 Modernisation Theory on China’s Attaining Economic Development
3.3.1 Social Overhead Capital
3.3.2 Foreign economic relations
3.3.3 Agricultural technology
3.3.4 Summary
3.4 Conclusion
4. IS DEVELOPMENT CATCH-UP POSSIBLE?
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Modernisation Theory on China’s Developmental Catch-up
4.2.1 Income Level
4.2.2 Comparison of Chinese development with other countries
4.2.3 Technology Gap
4.2.4 Summary
4.3 The Theory of Uneven and Combined Development: China could not catch-up
4.3.1 “Combination” form of Chinese Development?
4.3.2 Unevenness between China and developed economies
4.3.3 Unevenness between regions within China
4.3.4 Sectoral Unevenness within China
4.3.5 Urban-rural gap
4.3.5.1 Income equality in China
4.3.6 Summary
4.4 Conclusion
5. UNDERSTANDING CHINESE POLITICAL ECONOMY
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Chinese Official Narrative of “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics”
5.3 Analysis of “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics”
5.4 Scholarly debate on the nature of the Chinese political economy
5.5 Conclusion
6. CHINA’S VARIETY OF CAPITALISM
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Modernisation Theory’s Expectations of the Chinese Development Model
6.2.1 China Model: Free-market Development Model?
6.3 Developmental State Theory’s Expectations of the Chinese Development Model
6.3.1 China Model: State-led Development Model?
6.4 Conclusion
7. POTENTIAL CHALLENGES TO CHINA’S CATCH-UP TO THE WEST
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Internal challenges
7.2.1 Slowing economic growth
7.2.2 Declining innovation and investment
7.2.3 Housing market crisis
7.2.4 Growing dissatisfaction and protest within China
7.3 External challenges
7.3.1 Decoupling to De-risking from the Chinese Economy
7.3.2 The US-China Trade War
7.3.3 From Trade War to Tech War
7.3.4 Wide-ranging competition and potential confrontation with the US
7.4 Conclusion
8. CONCLUSION
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Developmental Catch-up in China
8.3 China Development Model
8.4 Potential Challenges to China’s Catch-Up
8.5 Conclusion
Notes
References
Index
Biography
Lee Pei May is Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science at the International Islamic University of Malaysia. Her research focuses on China’s political economy, US‑China geopolitical competition, and Malaysia‑China relations. Her published work includes US‑China relations: trade war and the quest for global hegemony.
Lee considers four competing development theories and examines China’s economic development using the competing explanations. She provides insight into the dynamic nature of the international division of labor through development theories. Lee cautions “peripheral countries” about opening up their economies because of potential exploitation and dependency. […] It is an interesting read for those interested in development and Chinese economy. Suitable as an undergraduate textbook.
- D. Li, University of Texas at Dallas, Choice Review, January 2025
