China Changes Leaders: Hu's Great Gamble
November 7, 2012 | New York Times
Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese politics and executive director of the China Studies Center, University of Sydney
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/opinion/hu-jintao-great-gamble.html...Hu Jintao's gamble was to stop the whole process of looking at more complex socio-political reforms and go all out for G.D.P. growth, to buy time and reduce risk. It was quite a gambit. If he was right, then in the next decade, with the minimum of risk and in a controlled way, China can face the tasks of huge governance and modernize and update its political model. If he was wrong, then China has just lost at least half a decade that could have been spent addressing these pressing issues.
Sometime in the next few years, we’ll find out if Hu’s wager paid off. If it does, China’s path to great-power status will be assured. If not, then not only China, but the rest of the world, will be in for a very tough time.
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