Thank you, Ken Wedding and Teaching Comparative blog for these great articles by way of Lisa Schalla from the American School in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. 

These are from Project Syndicate about China.  The articles are from August-November 2012 and include many gems about the new leadership transition and the challenges facing the new leadership.   Please read the articles (I recommend all, but make comments on at least ONE ARTICLE).  Clarify which article you are

"China has unveiled its new leadership, including President-designate Xi Jinping, who will run the country for the next decade. At home, the new leadership will face slowing economic growth and increased pressure to revalue the renminbi (the Chinese Yuan currency). Meanwhile, with regional tensions running high, the US has shifted its focus to Asia in order to offset China's increasing influence. How will the country's new leadership manage mounting economic and geopolitical challenges?" (Ken Wedding, Teaching Comparative)

• President Xi's Singapore Lessons
• A New Agenda for China's New Leaders?
• America's Trouble with China
• China's Growth Challenge
• China's Troubled Bourbons
• China's Rebalancing Act
• Renminbi Rising
• China's House Divided
• The Next Task for China's New Leaders
• China in the Eye of the Beholder

For all the claims of promotion based on achievement (meritocracy), political scientists have found that who knows you (connections=guanxi) is more important than accomplishments in China.  Hence, the rise of the Princelings...

Is China coming to resemble Mexico during the heyday of the PRI? 

Read the article below and comment:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/world/asia/family-ties-and-hobnobbing-are-keys-to-power-in-china.html