Contemplate change in China (8)
I believe the answer is:
meditate
'contemplate' is the definition.
(I know that contemplate can be written as meditate)
'change in china' is the wordplay.
'change' becomes 'edit' (edit can mean to change or alter).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'china' becomes 'mate' (china plate is Cockney rhyming slang for mate).
'edit' placed into 'mate' is 'MEDITATE'.
(Other definitions for meditate that I've seen before include "Ruminate" , "Spend time in thought" , "Think contemplatively" , "Think intently and at length" , "Consider thoughtfully" .)