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Through the diverse views presented by the Chinese authors gathered in this issue, a crucial question emerges: that of the construction of a welfare-state, which sets China apart from Brazil, for instance. Disagreeing with François Godement, the authors believe that major contradictions will sooner or later emerge, linked to demographic issues such as the aging of the population, or to social issues such as the place of women or ethnic conflicts. The globalized models of sociality carried by social networks, while still marginal, are an increasingly important factor, as demonstrated by the development of NGOs.