"How have the economic reforms in the post-Mao era led to the spectacular rise of a new group of managerial elites? Who exactly are the members of the elite and can the Communist Party handle them?" "China is a country in the midst of rapid economic change, especially in its traditional rural areas. Despite the public ownership of township-village enterprises, managers, many of whom first gained their industrial experience in commune-brigade enterprises in the collective era, are highly motivated. Their entrepreneurial skills and expertise are indispensable for the vitality and success of rural enterprises, while their ascendancy in the local community is reinforced by the growing scale and sophistication of production necessary in the further progress of rural industrialization."--BOOK JACKET.