← China Studies syllabus

SingaporeChina Studies

Social Change and Challenges

8 dot points across 8 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How will an ageing, shrinking population reshape China, and what is the legacy of the one-child policy?

Analyse China's demographic change and the legacy of the one-child policy and evaluate its consequences for the country's future
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on demography. The one-child policy and its reversal, ageing and a shrinking workforce, the gender imbalance, and the threat of growing old before growing rich.
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Why did rapid growth produce such deep inequality, and how serious a challenge is it?

Analyse the rise of inequality in reform-era China and evaluate the challenge it poses to the regime
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on inequality. The rural-urban, coastal-interior and class gaps, the causes in policy and structure, common prosperity, and the threat to legitimacy.
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How has China controlled the internet, and has technology empowered citizens or the state?

Evaluate how China controls information and the internet and assess whether digital technology has empowered citizens or the state
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on the internet. The Great Firewall, censorship and guidance, the surveillance state, and whether technology has empowered citizens or strengthened control.
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How dramatic has the rise in living standards been, and what explains China's poverty reduction?

Evaluate the rise in living standards and the reduction of poverty in reform-era China and assess what drove it
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on living standards. The scale of poverty reduction, growth versus targeted programmes, the 2021 poverty declaration, and how to assess the achievement.
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How does the Party manage a more complex society, and is there space for civil society in China?

Analyse how the Party manages society and evaluate the space for civil society in reform-era China
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on social management. The growth of social organisations, stability maintenance, the limits on civil society, and how the state combines responsiveness with control.
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Will China's new middle class demand political change, or has it been bound to the regime?

Examine the rise of the Chinese middle class and evaluate whether it is a force for political change or for stability
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on the middle class. Its rise and size, modernisation theory versus co-optation, why it has supported the regime, and the conditions that could change that.
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What has rapid growth cost China's environment, and can the state clean up while still developing?

Examine the environmental costs of China's growth and evaluate the effectiveness of the state's response
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on the environment. Air, water and soil pollution, the carbon question, the turn to 'ecological civilisation' and clean energy, and how effective the response is.
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How has mass migration reshaped China, and why does the hukou system still divide its people?

Analyse urbanisation and internal migration in reform-era China and evaluate the role of the hukou household-registration system
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on urbanisation and hukou. The great migration, the household-registration system, the rural-urban divide it creates, and the politics of hukou reform.
11 min answer →