Political dynamics of social policy reform in China

Effective social policy is the hallmark of modern states. In the developed world, social policy is an important dimension of state capacity and the institutional basis for social stability. In many Western countries, the development of social policy is underscored by a gradualist political process where state and society have undergone a mutual transformation and various social and economic institutions of modern states have gradually developed to maturity. ¹ For developing countries, the state often lacks certain functions in providing social welfare. As a typical developing country, China’s modern social policy is still halfway along a tortuous path, in the shadow of the prevailing paradigm of economic growth and social stability as the chief political agenda in the post-Mao era.