The widening income gap in China and
the resulting social explosions, threatening the interests of the
ruling bureaucracy and capitalists, is a top item on the agenda of
the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. In a bid to ease the
revolt, the 11th five-year economic plan is nominally focusing on
more equal distribution, but this cannot solve the contradictions
created by the move towards capitalism.
The death of Deng Xiaoping opens up a new chapter for China. Over the last 20 years since the death of Mao, the shift towards opening up the economy to capitalist interests has intensified the contradictions of Chinese society.