Central-local budgetary arrangements have undergone numerous changes since the 1960s as the Chinese government in its quest for modernization has sought to balance the needs of central control and local autonomy. During the reform period, the falling tax share of GNP and a commitment to greater decentralization of the planning system led to major changes in the public finance system that have devolved expenditure responsibilities and financial authority to local governments. Fiscal decentralization has been credited with hardening budget constraints for local publicly controlled enterprises and government agencies. New budgetary relations have instilled fiscal discipline, allowing local governments to disburse more expenditures only if they generated more revenues. These reforms have helped unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of local bureaucrats, fuelling the rapid growth of rural industry.

The fact that Reichswehr officers served as advisors to Chiang Kai-shek between 1927 and 1936 and that Hitler, before concluding his anti- Comintern pact with Japan, may have toyed with a Chinese alternative, can only partly be explained by Germany's great power aspirations at the time. Bom powers had been latecomers to global interaction and were rather traditional continental players when compared with Britain or the United States. Both derived their foreign policy claims from a pre-modern and sometimes mythological status.

The empirical study of bureaucrats in the Hong Kong government, particularly in their relationship with politicians in the legislature, is a relatively new subject of academic interest. This effort at systematic research is related to the fact that both senior civil servants and politicians are essential to effective government. While senior civil servants in Hong Kong have dominated the political process in the territory for 150 years, politicians have gained importance since the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Britain signed the Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong in 1984. It follows that the relationships between these two leadership groups are of great interest, theoretically, empirically, practically and politically. The key problem of any government is how these elite groups interact. A major concern is maintaining an efficient and able bureaucracy with enough independence to do an effective job of administration, while operating in a political context in which politicians are competitive and accountable to the electorate, reacting to the constant demands and expectations of special and general interests. The maintenance of a proper balance between efficiency and responsiveness in such an environment has to be achieved if the polity is to function effectively and be stable

Thirty years ago contemporary China studies in Scandinavia was largely an unknown phenomenon. Most sinologists worked on aspects of traditional sinology such as historical phonology, classical religion, philosophy and linguistics, and contemporary studies were seen as a rather shallow preoccupation which could be left safely in the hands of journalists and diplomats. However, as the public interest in contemporary China studies in Scandinavia grew and as development economists, political scientists and sociologists began to encroach on the China field, it increasingly became difficult to limit Chinese studies to classical pursuits. Today the contemporary China field in Scandinavia has grown strong and active and consists of approximately 90 active scholars. In most Scandinavian institutes classical studies occupy a dominant position in terms of faculty staff, but new positions are increasingly established within the contemporary field, where one also finds the majority of new Ph.D. projects.

It is axiomatic among observers that in the transition to the post-Deng era, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will play a pivotal role. This is understandable. Until now, the army has been a central force in Chinese politics owing to the unique Party-army relationship that has existed since the founding of the Communist regime. Although this relationship will change in the near future, the importance of the military will not: they will remain indispensable backers of the new leadership. This is because they command the forces which may be used to determine the outcome of an elite power struggle, displace rebellious local figures, put down a mass uprising or even carry out a coup.