China’s economic transformation process, which started in 1978 under the banner of the Four Modernizations, is the deepest transformation in the long history of this country. The Communist Party of China carries out modernization in some areas, while limiting changes in others. Economic development has been undoubtedly impressive, but also unbalanced. It created problems such as inequality and social contrasts between urban and rural areas, as well as between coast and interior provinces, the division of the society into different categories of citizens, and corruption. There is also the question about the relationship between economic development and democratization. The article is an introduction to explain these phenomena.