This volume assesses the state of the People's Republic of China on its 50th anniversary by asking leading scholars in various fields to give their views of developments since 1949 with emphasis on recent decades. With the exception of the contributions by Bob Dernberger and Michael Sullivan, the papers were presented and discussed at a conference cosponsored with the Centra de Estudos Asiáticos of the Universidade de Aveiro in Aveiro, Portugal from 28 to 31 January 1999. The China Quarterly wishes to acknowledge the generous support of the Universidade de Aveiro, its Rector, Júlio Pedrosa de Jesus, and the efforts of the staff of the Centro de Estudos Asiáticos, in particular Pedro Vilarinho, António Miranda and Helena Costa.