The fourth generation of leaders of the People''s Republic of China, while benefiting from the prestige of China''s entry into the World Trade Organization and the honor of hosting the 2008 Olympic Games, also needs to contemplate the sobering side-effects of a rapid and internationally-interdependent economy and a troubled and only partly reformed political system. This important book approaches the study of the PRC under Hu Jintao in a two-fold manner: by examining the new political parameters within which the party-state functions and by analyzing the prominent issues OCo at home and abroad OCo that are commanding the attention of ChinaOCOs new leaders. The book tackles a comprehensive range of topics, including elites, institutions and stateOCosociety relations, politics and the political implications of economic change, domestic politics and foreign relations.