Based on our reassessment of existing studies on political interest and apathy in various societies, we argue the urgent need for a more systematic and focused examination of mass political interest—as psychological involvement in politics—in China. Utilizing data collected from a public opinion survey conducted in Beijing, China in late 1995, we intend to shed some light on the level and sources of political interest in contemporary China. Contrary to the prevalent argument that most Chinese are politically apathetic, we have found that there was a rather high level of political interest within our sample. We have also found that both conventional variables (i.e. age, gender, education, income, political efficacy, and dissatisfaction with government performance) and variables unique to the Chinese setting (i.e. being a farmer, becoming a private entrepreneur, joining the Chinese Communist Party and holding leading position in the party/government) have significant effects on the levels of political interest.

This article assumes that whether the current Chinese authoritarian government can maintain socio-political stability during the potentially turbulent transition to the post-Deng Xiaoping era depends, at least in part, upon the level of popular support for the political regime (or regime legitimacy). Based on data derived from a sample survey of Beijing residents, this study seeks to address two fundamental questions: “To what extent does the current Chinese communist regime enjoy public support?” and “What are the possible sources of popular support for the political regime in contemporary China?” The findings in this study suggest that (1) the current communist regime still enjoys a moderately high level of popular support, and (2) popular support for the regime is most likely to be found among those who are optimistic about the country's economic and political futures, who are most satisfied with their life, who give high evaluations of incumbent policies, who often follow public affairs, and who are older. Based on these findings, the article concludes that the current communist regime seems to have a good chance of remaining legitimate among a majority of the Chinese people, while it is still facing serious challenges from its policy performance in some major public policy areas.

Based on findings from a field research conducted in Pengzhe County in the People's Republic of China, the following study shows that county and sub-county governments in Pengzhe perform enormously important tasks in political, economic, and other areas. The reform period has seen the strengthening of local government power in Pengzhe. Party organizations at various levels are still the power center. Moreover, subordinate government officials (either at the county level or the township level) are still quite compliant with the policies of higher authorities due to the latter's power in personnel promotion/demotion and resource allocation. Relations between central government and local government is by no means a zero-sum game. As shown in the study, local officials at the county and township levels in places like Pengzhe are effective foot soldiers and functionaries of the central government in actually governing the vast population in China.

The interplay between domestic politics and foreign policy has long been a debating issue among scholars of international studies. This study focuses on the question of how political and ideological changes in the successor states of the former Soviet Union have affected their relations with the People's Republic of China, one of the few remaining communist countries in the world. The findings in this study show that relations between China and the successor states of the former Soviet Union have been affected least by ideology. These findings should not lead the reader to the conclusion that ideology does not matter in international relations, but rather, the author argues, that economic and geopolitical considerations tend to overshadow the ideological factor in relations among states.