The world has watched China's rise with awe and trepidation. Yet, the focus on how China will use its new power and influence has obscured the many problems the country faces as it continues to develop. Good Marxists that they are, Chinese leaders have long fretted over the contradictions within their society. But those tensions have become even more acute as the country continues its breakneck economic growth.
The recent session of China's National People's Congress focused squarely on those concerns and approved the 11th five-year Development Program to deal with them. The plan is well intentioned, but its eventual success depends on one factor that the government is not ready to address: the ruling Chinese Communist Party's monopoly on power.
In the past five years, the Chinese economy has grown 9.5 percent per year on average. Last year, the country registered 9.9 percent growth and per capita gross domestic product topped $1,700. That remarkable growth has spurred China's re-emergence, put it at the heart of the global economy, made it a force to be reckoned with in regional and global councils, and fueled a military modernization program that has neighboring countries concerned about Beijing's intentions.