The analysis of the criminogenic potential of socioeconomic transition in China suggests that these crime patterns with Chinese characteristics cannot be fully accounted for within the framework of the traditional anomie theory. The article examines the testability of Merton's anomie theory with regard to crime problems in the context of contemporary China. An overview of crime trends in China after the onset of economic reform in the early 1980s reveals distinctive crime patterns. A newly formulated institutional discrepancy-anomie theory is proposed arguing that the institutional discrepancies generated by coexistence of China's market-oriented economy and authoritarian polity contribute significantly to the dramatic increase in these crime rates. It is noted that although an expansive body of literature has discussed the connections between social transition and crime, there has been little theoretical exploration and few empirical studies on anomie theory done in developing Asian countries, China in particular. The policy implication that the Chinese Government should reconsider the undue emphasis on punitive crime control policy is also presented. Figures, notes, references