China’s transformation from a poor country to the world’s number two economy is one of the most significant developments in contemporary history. In this new book, Yongnian Zheng examines China’s economic, political and social development from the onset of reform in the late 1970s to the present. Beginning with the reform and open–door policy initiated in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, Contemporary China tracks how the country has progressed alongside worldwide movements of globalization, market economy, and democratization. China’s reform has been crucial not only to economic growth, but also what Deng Xiaoping called the “second revolution” of rebuilding the country’s political and social institutions. The book examines the internal and external dynamics behind this dual transformation and provides fresh insights into China’s critical role on the world stage today.