This fourth revised edition sets out to analyze and compare the operational mechanisms of the Chinese economy between the pre- and post-reform periods and through national, regional and local dimensions. It examines the driving forces – both endogenous and exogenous – that have influenced China’s economic development during the past decades. Both positive and negative consequences of the Chinese economic transformation have been clarified. A multiregional comparison of the Chinese economy is conducted in terms of natural and human resources, institutional evolution, as well as economic and social performances. This enlarged edition includes three new chapters on cultural diversity, natural and environmental resources, and, political and administrative systems. Many of the original chapters have also been significantly revised, expanded and updated according to more recent research.