Modernization in the People's Republic of China

Since spring 2011, the Chinese party and state leadership has officially acknowledged that the Chinese economy has considerable structural problems. It is questionable whether the path taken since 1978 of a centrally planned and controlled modernization of China by a party dictatorship will continue to be successful.

The current regime of "hard authoritarianism" would lead to stagnation of the economy, aggravation of social problems, and ultimately to the decline of the single ruling Communist Party of China. However, in the medium term, there is a chance that the Communist Party will restrict control in many areas of society and return to its course between 1998 and 2008.

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