A comprehensive assessment of where China stands today in terms of technological innovation, the resilience of Communist Party rule, and debates about environmental sustainability and global hegemony. A wonderful book for a broad audience! David Smith, University of California Irvine So and Chu are keen observers of China's economy and society. In ... Read moreThe Global Rise of China they capture the drama of China's rise and inject a powerful new concept into the China debate: `state neoliberalism.' All future writing on China's economy and society will have to grapple with So and Chu's approach. Essential reading for sociologists, political scientists, and sinologists of all ideological persuasions. Salvatore Babones, Sydney University With considerable analytical rigor and clarity in exposition, So and Chu delineate the role of the Chinese party-state in the dramatic rise of China from a poor `third world' state to an economic and political super-power in less than four decades. This compelling narrative will be an indispensable text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate classes on China, East Asia, and development studies courses. Ravi Palat, Binghamton University In exploring the phenomenal economic transformation of China, Alvin Y. So and Yin-wah Chu provide a 'state-centered explanation' when they argue that the 'communist party-state' released or constrained marketisation by means of `state neoliberalism' [...]. Despite this, unlike many other commentators, the authors emphasise the continuities with the Great Leap Forward and other periods of socialist experimentation. Journal of Contemporary Asia Show Less