China at the Crossroads ― What the Third Plenum Means for China, New Zealand and the World

China is at the crossroads: after decades of breakneck development, it is facing growing problems. These range from corruption, unrest, and pollution to uneven, unsustainable growth. If these problems are solved China is set to become a strong, wealthy center of power. If they are not, it will face years of uncertainty and stress. Either way its development will have a major impact on New Zealand, whose number one trading partner is now China. In late 2013, China’s new leader President Xi Jinping took a big step. He asked a plenary meeting of the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee to agree on a lengthy new reform agenda. Assessments differ on whether the reforms of this Third Plenum will put China on the right track. In July 2014, the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington held a conference to discuss the Third Plenum and China’s current condition. An outstanding group of specialists from New Zealand, Australia, China, and the United States met to assess critical issues and trends. This book is an account of the conference and its conclusions, and is essential reading for anyone concerned about China and impact on New Zealand.

Peter Harris is a writer specializing in China, and a consultant on east Asian development. In 2013–2014, he was acting director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre and a visiting professor at Nanjing University in China. His most recent publications, for the Random House Everyman’s Library, were a new translation of the classic anthologyThree Hundred Tang Poems and a new edition of The Travels of Marco Polo.