ABSTRACT

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, health and social policy have been integral to national governance and important for both the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ideology and legitimacy and for the Party-state’s political stability. From the 1950s to the 1970s the provision of health care and other social goods was central to Maoist egalitarian governance and the CCP’s claims to rule in the name of workers and peasants. In the 1980s and 1990s it was a means of pre-empting opposition to market-oriented economic reform. In the early 21st century it was central to Hu Jintao’s attempts to pacify a dissatisfied populace and spread ‘social harmony’. The 12th Five-Year Plan (2011–15) indicates that under the post-Hu Jintao CCP leadership (from late 2012), health and social welfare are likely to remain a priority.