A study of China's post-Jiang leadership succession as the 16th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (October 2002) draws near. It focuses on two aspects of the transition: changes in the politics of leadership transition; and the challenges with which China's leaders will have to grapple.

Contents: Introduction: Succession Problems and Challenges (J Wong & Y-N Zheng); The Politics of Succession: Previous Patterns and a New Process (F C Teiwes); Crossing the Political Minefields of Succession: From Jiang Zemin to Hu Jintao (S-P Zheng); Technocratic Leadership, Private Entrepreneurship, and Party Transformation in the Post-Deng Era (Y-N Zheng); Leadership Succession and Its Impact on the Party's Rank and File (I Wibowo); Central-Provincial Relations and the Fourth Generation Leadership: The Political Dimension (K Forster); Can Democracy Provide an Answer to the National Identity Question? A Historical Approach (B-G He); The Challenges of Managing a Huge Society Under Rapid Transformation (X L Ding); Three Dimensions of Rural Issues and Policy Options (T-S Wong & T Zhang); Direct Election of Township Heads: Perspectives of Chinese Peasants (L-J Li); The Private Economy: Will the Ugly Duckling Become a Swan? (X-W Tian); Adapting to the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism (Q-J Kong); WTO Accession and Growth Strategy Adjustment (D Lu); Cross-Strait Relations in the 21st Century: More Integration, More Alienation? (C-M Chao); The Rise of China: Challenges for the ASEAN Economies (J Wong); Japan's "Challenges" to China in the Epoch of Terrorism (P E Lam).