The introduction proposes environmental health challenges as an obstacle to China’s global leadership. Following a discussion of the unique features of environmental health problems in China, it explains why social response to the crisis is embedded in a political milieu dramatically different from the Mao era. It also touches upon issues of state response, including the challenges of policy implementation. Furthermore, it explains why the discussion fits squarely within the debate over Chinese state’s capacity to revamp itself and the prospect for China’s global leadership. It ends with a discussion of the analytical framework and organization of the book.