As China enters its proclaimed ‘New Era’ under President Xi Jinping, this book examines changes and continuity in social relations and political development, investigating new developments against the backdrop of continuations of long-term trends and previous policies.

What has remained outside many scholarly discussions is a larger backdrop of continuity, into which the policies of Xi Jinping’s administration are inserted to further shape social, economic and political trajectories in contemporary China. Presented as a volume of methodologically diverse studies exploring some of the key aspects of social and political development in contemporary China, its authors examine the structural factors that continue to exert influence on China’s trajectory – in the ‘New Era’, as before – at the deeper and subtler levels. This is the first publication of its kind to focus on how continuity and change interplay under Xi; it enables readers to appreciate both genuine novelties and the enduring, long-term trends, as well as to estimate future trends in the proclaimed ‘New Era’ and beyond.

Social Relations and Political Development in China will be of significant interest to students and scholars of Chinese studies, political science and sociology.