Article at a glance:

The road ahead for capitalism in China

• Two starkly contrasting possible futures exist for China: a market economy under the rule of law or crony capitalism.
• The right way ahead lies in furthering economic, social, and political reform and comprehensively establishing and improving the free-market economic system.
• To achieve these goals, China must force state-owned enterprises to behave more like private companies, end the discriminatory treatment of private companies, and ensure that the social system protects the weakest members of society.
• Building a democratic society under the rule of law will be a main theme of reform in the years to come.