Whither Marxism in China?

Final versions of the chapters of my China text are accumulating on my desk. It has been a process that has run into so many (extraordinary) obstacles that I've had times when I was willing to believe in curses (being in Red Sox country and having experienced a similar phenomenon in Chicago may predispose me to such a belief). In any event, the text is still afloat and the shore is in sight.

The idea of doing a Marxian critique of a nation governed by a party whose intellectual traditions (and future?) are grounded in Marxism is rife with ironies. In any event, some have begun to question whether a party that has embraced capitalism with such fervor can continue to rely on an intellectual tradition that exposes exploitation in all its dimensionality. The more I research and write on China, the more ambiguities I discover. I'm not sure any rigid, deterministic conclusion about China's future is justified. As for Marxism, here is what President Hu has to say:

The following quote is excerpted from "President Hu underlines development of philosophy, social sciences" in People's Daily Online:

The Chinese president urged the philosophers and social scientists in the country to "unswervingly uphold the guiding status of Marxism", keep pace with the times to constantly make theoretical innovations, and add still greater vitality to Marxism in the contemporary China.