China has undergone very rapid transformation in the last three
decades. Ever since the Reform and Open Policy in 1979, the real
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (in 1970 prices) of the country
has risen more than 20 times from 381.7 billion to 8,596.3 billion
in 2012 (State Statistical Bureau of the People’s Republic of
China, 2013). Research on the country has also increased substantially
with the availability of more official data, the possibility of
conducting more fieldwork, and the willingness among various
stakeholders to have more open dialogues, which has enabled
researchers (whether local or overseas) to understand the Chinese
context much better. Increasing research collaborations have also
enabled Chinese scholars to make their unique contributions in
sharing insights with the English-speaking world.