As a result of intensive economic reform and open door policies in the past fifteen years, China has become a major player in the global economy. This economic prosperity has brought great changes to the country, and in particular to the military, who, with new resources available, have redefined China's internal and external security policies.

Chinese Economic Reform reaches beyond the economic success of recent years to focus specifically on the pivotal role of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and points towards its vigorous economic participation as a means of consolidating power. The contributors address a wide range of topics, including the PLA's business activities, military industry and conversion, and arms sales.

These studies highlight the way in which the military now acts as a business in this new environment, with its own form of insider dealing and large scale corruption. Inevitably, these changes have affected China's relationship with the rest of the world; this volume carefully evaluates the effects of rapid economic growth on China's policies towards defence up to the end of the twentieth century.