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Can the managerialism adopted by the Chinese authorities to modernise public administration while avoiding political reform forge an efficient State capable of meeting the economic, social and environmental challenges China is faced with today? Can it preserve or restore the legitimacy of the Communist Party of China (CPC)? Is it an effective substitute for reform of a more political nature, or is it in fact helping to move things along in this direction? This article places the “issue of bureaucracy” within the Chinese historical and socio-political context, outlining the major reforms adopted by the Chinese authorities since 1978. It demonstrates that while the structural reforms of the State have been necessary to support a policy of growth, they have also been characteristic of an economic policy based on Party control and collection of profits, the development of forms of illegal trade and the growth of inequalities. The combined effect of these three factors has stirred up conflicts in the Party and significantly eroded its legitimacy. These trends explain both the difficulties and the contradictions of contemporary Chinese governance and the reform agenda as it stands today.