The Chinese Developmental Miracle: Origins, Characteristics, and Challenges

Since the late 1970s, China has produced a developmental miracle of rapid economic development and political stability. The aim of this article is to examine three sets of questions: What is the origin of this Chinese developmental miracle? What are the characteristics of the Chinese pattern of development? What are the challenges facing the Chinese model? Drawing upon the findings in this special issue, the article argues that the legacy of the Leninist party-state, the fading of the cold war, East Asian industrial relocation, and other triggering events had helped to transform the revolutionary state under Mao to the developmental state in the reform era. However, different from other East Asian developmental states, Chinese state officials engaged in entrepreneurship, allowed more local initiatives, and paid more attention to egalitarianism. Whether the Chinese developmental miracle will continue depends on how the state handles the challenges of economic reforms, globalization, global recession, hegemonic rivalry, and democratization.