Progress, Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

The importance of China’s 106 million ethnic people in its social fabric is well recognized. Although economic development has brought work and income to many regions, growth has been uneven and is frequently accompanied by a heavy environmental cost. Thus, pressures for separatist activity aggravated by religious and secular differences are apparent. Despite the massive drop in extreme poverty figures, life remains predominantly difficult for the overwhelming majority. In fact, the disparity between living standards in the relatively affluent eastern part of China compared with the west has widened. While recent Chinese governments have talked about redressing the economic balance, in reality, it has been market forces which have dictated the melody.