Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - kms2.isn.ethz.ch.pdf

Journal of Current Chinese Affairs China aktuell Ahlers, Anna L. and Schubert, Gunter (2009), “Building a New Socialist Countryside” – Only a Political Slogan?, in: Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 38, 4, 35-62. ISSN: 1868-4874 (online), ISSN: 1868-1026 (print) The online version of this and the other articles can be found at: www.CurrentChineseA Published by GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Institute of Asian Studies in cooperation with the National Institute of Chinese Studies, White Rose East Asia Centre at the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield and Hamburg University Press. The Journal of Current Chinese Affairs is an Open Access publication. It may be read, copied and distributed free of charge according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. To subscribe to the print edition: ias@giga-hamburg.de For an e-mail alert please register at: www.CurrentChineseA The Journal of Current Chinese Affairs is part of the GIGA Journal Family which includes: Africa Spectrum • Journal of Current Chinese Affairs • Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs • Journal of Politics in Latin America • Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 4/2009: 35-62 “Building a New Socialist Countryside” – Only a Political Slogan? Anna L. Ahlers and Gunter Schubert Abstract: In March 2006, China’s National People’s Congress officially promulgated the central government’s intention to “build a new socialist countryside”, a new policy initiative and approach to rural development. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in two Chinese counties in 2008 and 2009, this article investigates how the new policy is being substantiated and implemented at the local level. It argues that by combining China’s new fiscal system of tran