Yuen Yuen Ang says China’s political economy is teem with paradoxes. It is ruled by the Communist Party of China (CPC), yet it embraces crony capitalism. The regime adopts meritocracy, yet favouritism is widespread. She says, it is crucial to “grasp such seeming contradictions” in our process to understand China. Hence, “cronyism and strong economic performance” are expected to go hand in hand and “will persist well into the next decade.”

Governed by a meritocratic regime in recent years, China is a high-growth mixed economy, which had lifted some 800 million people out of poverty and is on the way to building a moderately prosperous society. But meritocracy has not helped reduce inequality, because Chinese business practices are rife with nepotism and favouritism. A person is favoured not because of his/her merits, but rather because of personal relationship with decision makers or party loayalty.

The author says, since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012 he conducted an anti-corruption crusade, purging more than 1.5 million officials, including some of the CPC top leaders. The prosecution of high-profile figures like Bo Xilai (in 2012) and Ji Jianye (in 2013) made headlines. While the former top shots are remembered mainly for graft scandals, they did a good job while in office, and were hugely popular in the cities of Chongqing and Nanjing respectively.

There are admirers who claim China's meritocratic, and “public-spirited” one-party system were wise and more superior, exposing the failings of the West. The author cites Daniel A. Bell of Shandong University, who praises China’s meritocracy, which “presents an alternative – even a challenge – to democracy. He recommends that the Chinese government export this model abroad.” But there are critics, like Minxin Pei, who decry the CPC, which is “corrupt to the core” and will soon “collapse.”

Once denigrated by the CPC, now Confucianism is being embraced again. Confucius is the Chinese philosopher who really registers for the rest of the world. In recent years China has been launching its soft power drive to spread Chinese language and culture around the world. Its Confucius Institute is the biggest diplomacy programme in the world, with more than 1,000 institutes and classrooms in 120 countries (and counting). Confucius institutes are major university-based teaching centres, while Confucius classrooms are smaller language learning support units for high schools.

China’s political system had adopted a “Confucian-style meritocracy where officials are selected,” according to Bell, “in accordance with ability and virtue” through a top-down process. Centuries ago, the mastery of Confucian thought was the key to passing imperial China's famous civil service exams. As Confucian values emphasise filial piety, blood ties and patriarchal rights, Mao Zedong demonised them. Critics also said affiliations based on these values led to corruption and evil deeds.

It took nearly 30 years for Confucius to come out of hiding after Mao’s death in 1976. In 2005, President Hu Jintao unveiled his Confucian "harmonious society" slogan without mentioning the philosopher by name. It was left for his successor, Xi Jinping, to officially rehabilitate Confucius in a 2014 speech marking his 2,565th birthday.

But Confucianism, like most ideologies, can be a double-edged sword. The basic values of political Confucianism could pose an implicit challenge to the political status-quo. Apparently, Chinese democrats throughout twentieth century history were inspired by Confucian values and took on liberal ideas, like the freedom of religion. But if Confucianism shapes China's political future, it will not look like the status quo, but neither will it look like a Western-style liberal democracy, according to Bell.