Book excerpt: Unlike most books which consider China’s transformation and globalization over the last four decades by focusing on China’s economic growth, this book examines how the Chinese regime has handled the increasingly complex sociopolitical and socio-economic challenges generated as a result of the country’s economic growth and transformation, challenges arising both from within the country and also from the external political environment. Based on extensive original research, the book outlines how China’s economic development has generated social and governance pressures, discusses the government’s social, educational, and governance reforms, and highlights how China’s development experiences, which differ from the Western economies with democratic political regimes, have drawn increasing attention from other countries in the developing world as an example to follow.