China Review 2000 - Tapa dura

China is entering a new era at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Economically, she has been able to come out of the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 seemingly unscathed. Internationally, she was finally paying more attention to her relations with the outside world. For instance, she has succeeded in mending fences with the United States after the Yugoslavia embassy bombing crisis by signing a bilateral trade agreement as a first step towards entering the World Trade Organization. Domestically, China is still trying to restructure its economic and social institutions, particularly now that more opening seems imminent. How to operate a modern society where trade, investment and technological know-how flourish while keeping a tight lid on the free flow of ideas remains a formidable task to the Communist Party leadership. Also, there is a new president to deal with in Taiwan although developments in the two newly added Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau are on the right track. "China Review 2000" analyses critical political, economic, social and urban, as well as business issues related to changes during the past year, and tries to articulate the trends of development opportunities in the new century.

Lau Chung-ming is chair and associate professor in the department of management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Jianfa Shen is assistant professor in the department of geography, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.