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CCCH9010 China: Culture, State and Society
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Course Description
In order to understand the prospect of China’s quest for modernity, this course examines the key governance challenges that have emerged during its transition from a socialist system to a new form of developmental authoritarianism. The course has three parts. Part I introduces contending analytical perspectives on the political economy of development, such as the gradualist reform model, the developmental state model and the authoritarian resilience model. Part II first analyzes the causes, scale and dynamics of several governance challenges facing contemporary China, namely legitimacy challenges, regulatory challenges, distributive challenges and external challenges, and then examines the policies of the Chinese state in tackling these critical issues and applies the different analytical perspectives in interpreting such efforts. Part III concludes the course by comparing the developmental trajectories and experiences in China with those in other developing countries.
Course Learning Outcomes
On completing the course, students will be able to:
- Describe and explain the key arguments of major theoretical perspectives on the governance of transitional and emerging economies, and critically assess their relative strengths and weaknesses in interpreting China’s developmental experience.
- Identify the causes, scale and characteristics of the key governance challenges facing contemporary China, and understand the difficulties that China faces in tackling them.
- Analyze why the Chinese government has adopted a particular set of policy measures in coping with such challenges, examine the political considerations and consequences of these policy choices, and critically evaluate their effectiveness and impacts.
- Compare and contrast the developmental trajectories and governance challenges in China and other emerging economies.
- Demonstrate the ability to collect information, analyze data and arguments, and write up findings and arguments.
Offer Semester and Day of Teaching
First semester (Wed)
Study Load
| Activities | Number of hours |
| Lectures | 24 |
| Tutorials | 12 |
| Reading / Self-study | 65 |
| Assessment: Essay writing | 45 |
| Assessment: Presentation (incl preparation) | 14 |
| Total: | 160 |
Assessment: 100% coursework
| Assessment Tasks | Weighting |
| Tutorial participation | 25 |
| Presentation | 10 |
| Short paper assignment | 35 |
| In-class test | 30 |
Required Reading
- Cabestan, J. -P. (2018). The Party Runs the Show. In W. W. -L. Lam (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Communist Party. London: Routledge. [Chap. 5]
- Cai, Y., & Zhou, T. (2016). New Information Communication Technologies and Social Protest in China: Information as Common Knowledge. Asian Survey, 56(4), 731-753.
- Chen, M., & Goodman, D. S. G. (2012). The China Model: One Country, Six Authors. Journal of Contemporary China, 21(73), 169-185.
- Economy, E. C. (2018). The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Chap. 2]
- Gilley, B. (2014). Deng Xiaoping and His Successors: 1976 to the Present. In W. A. Joseph (Ed.), Politics in China: An Introduction (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Chap. 4]
- Kroeber, A. R. (2011). Developmental Dreams: Policy and Reality in China’s Economic Reforms. In S. Kennedy (Ed.), Beyond the Middle Kingdom Comparative Perspectives on China’s Capitalist Transformation. Stanford: Stanford University Press. [Chap. 3]
- Liebman, B. L. (2015). China’s Law and Stability Paradox. In J. deLisle & A. Goldstein (Eds.), China’s Challenges. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. [Chap. 9]
- Manion, M. (2015). The Challenge of Corruption. In J. deLisle & A. Goldstein (Eds.), China’s Challenges. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. [Chap. 7]
- Naughton, B. (2018). The Chinese Economy: Adaptation and Growth. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. [Chap. 10]
- Pils, E. (2018). The Party and the Law. In W. W. -L. Lam (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Communist Party. London: Routledge. [Chap. 16]
- Shambaugh, D. (2016). Contemplating China’s Future. The Washington Quarterly, 39(3), 121-130.
- Shen, S. (2018). China and the World. In W. W. -L. Lam (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Communist Party. London: Routledge. [Chap. 24]
- So, A. Y., & Chu, Y. -W. (2016). The Global Rise of China. Cambridge: Polity Press. [Chap. 6]
- Zhao, S. (2016). Whither the China Model: Revisiting the Debate. Journal of Contemporary China, 26(103), 1-17.
Course Co-ordinator and Teacher(s)
| Course Co-ordinator | Contact |
| Dr X. Wang Department of Politics and Public Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences |
Tel: 3917 4371 Email: xqbwang@hku.hk |
| Teacher(s) | Contact |
| Dr X. Wang Department of Politics and Public Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences |
Tel: 3917 4371 Email: xqbwang@hku.hk |