Children of the reform and opening-up: China’s new generation and new era of development

Abstract China’s new generation, born during the 1980s and 1990s, is a social cohort that has grown up in the era of reform and opening-up. They are simultaneously influenced by and play a critical role in a series of significant historical events in the aftermath of the reform and opening-up. The l...

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Main Author: Chunling Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2020-10-01
Series:The Journal of Chinese Sociology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40711-020-00130-x
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author Chunling Li
author_facet Chunling Li
author_sort Chunling Li
collection DOAJ
description Abstract China’s new generation, born during the 1980s and 1990s, is a social cohort that has grown up in the era of reform and opening-up. They are simultaneously influenced by and play a critical role in a series of significant historical events in the aftermath of the reform and opening-up. The life course of this generation is intertwined with significant social changes, such as fast economic growth, the one-child policy, education expansion, the rise of the Internet, marketization, industrialization, urbanization, and globalization. These changes greatly affect their living circumstances and opportunities, shaping the generational characteristics while widening the intergenerational gap between them and the previous generations. At the same time, however, China’s new generation is unable to break the constraints of the social structure. The shared generational identity fails to eliminate the socioeconomic disparities within the generation. In contrast, marketization has strengthened the Chinese class structure through intergenerational transmission. In China’s new era of development, promoting equal opportunities and narrowing socioeconomic inequality among the new generation now proves to be a new challenge.
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spelling doaj.art-4eb0362cabf04ae597ec8563916eaf2c2022-12-21T23:13:23ZengSpringerOpenThe Journal of Chinese Sociology2198-26352020-10-017112210.1186/s40711-020-00130-xChildren of the reform and opening-up: China’s new generation and new era of developmentChunling Li0Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social SciencesAbstract China’s new generation, born during the 1980s and 1990s, is a social cohort that has grown up in the era of reform and opening-up. They are simultaneously influenced by and play a critical role in a series of significant historical events in the aftermath of the reform and opening-up. The life course of this generation is intertwined with significant social changes, such as fast economic growth, the one-child policy, education expansion, the rise of the Internet, marketization, industrialization, urbanization, and globalization. These changes greatly affect their living circumstances and opportunities, shaping the generational characteristics while widening the intergenerational gap between them and the previous generations. At the same time, however, China’s new generation is unable to break the constraints of the social structure. The shared generational identity fails to eliminate the socioeconomic disparities within the generation. In contrast, marketization has strengthened the Chinese class structure through intergenerational transmission. In China’s new era of development, promoting equal opportunities and narrowing socioeconomic inequality among the new generation now proves to be a new challenge.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40711-020-00130-xReform and opening-upNew generationSocial transformationChina's New Era
spellingShingle Chunling Li
Children of the reform and opening-up: China’s new generation and new era of development
The Journal of Chinese Sociology
Reform and opening-up
New generation
Social transformation
China's New Era
title Children of the reform and opening-up: China’s new generation and new era of development
title_full Children of the reform and opening-up: China’s new generation and new era of development
title_fullStr Children of the reform and opening-up: China’s new generation and new era of development
title_full_unstemmed Children of the reform and opening-up: China’s new generation and new era of development
title_short Children of the reform and opening-up: China’s new generation and new era of development
title_sort children of the reform and opening up china s new generation and new era of development
topic Reform and opening-up
New generation
Social transformation
China's New Era
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40711-020-00130-x
work_keys_str_mv AT chunlingli childrenofthereformandopeningupchinasnewgenerationandneweraofdevelopment