Deng chose his successor, President Jiang Zemin, eight years ago, so the transfer of power may be smooth. But how well Jiang can negotiate the competing claims of an increasingly capitalist economy and a repressive, authoritarian regime remains to be seen. But with money has come pervasive corruption, and the national government has been loath to crack down on it for fear of losing control of the direction of China's economic growth. Not everyone has been caught up in the economic tide. Most Chinese agree that the economic reforms may continue and outlast Deng's political system.
People wait in uneasy anticipation.
The looming future may hold continued economic prosperity along with political freedom, but it may also hold an eruption of upheavals and disunity like that after the collapse of the Manchu Empire, in 1911. In any case, China's prospects are extremely uncertain. The United States will be watching China carefully to see whether the change in leadership leads to a change in Chinese economic policies, since maintaining a strong trade relationship with China is important for our own economic health.