ABSTRACT
In the second chapter I presented the outcomes of the strategy of economic development promoted by Deng Xiaoping and his successors; its positive as well as its negative impacts on Chinese society. In this chapter I will deal with the policies set up since the mid-1990s in order to correct the negative consequences of China’s impressive economic development. I will start by presenting a general picture of these policies, and in a second part I will take the case of the reforms of social security. At the end of the second chapter I expressed the opinion that, whereas the measures taken for improving the functioning of the economic system seem to be sufficient for assuring reasonably sustainable economic development, the impact of urbanization and industrialization on the physical and human environment runs the risk of producing some negative irreversible outcomes in the medium and long term. It is therefore urgent to set up an efficient, even if modest, social security system, as one of the most important policies for rebalancing Chinese society by sustaining the standard of living of those who did not fully benefit from the spectacular results of China’s economic development. Moreover, from the point of view of the capacity of the Chinese leadership to assure efficient governance, the implementation of an efficient social security system will certainly contribute to social stability, a paramount condition for maintaining economic and political stability and, thus, a reasonable pace of economic development.
