China's new economic policy made headlines in December 1984 when a leading article in the People's Daily expressed the previously unthinkable opinion that the teachings of Marx and Engels could not be expected to solve all of China's present problems. What have been the main characteristics of...

At the end of the 1970s there occurred a re-orientation of development policy in the People's Republic of China. Changes were introduced in the sectoral development priorities, the guiding principles of the State's incomes and foreign trade policies and in the organization of agricultural...

Western public opinion frequently voices uncritical applause for the economic reforms in the People's Republic of China. The expectation of large sales opportunities in the Chinese market has led to a kind of China-euphoria in certain business circles. This frequently overlooks the fact that...

The fact that increasing importance is being attached to foreign trade under the new Chinese leadership must not be mistaken for automatic expansion of the importation of foreign goods. Foreign trade will, as before, have only a complementary function in the economic development of China. For...

Since Mao's death China has greatly strengthened its contacts with Western industrialized states. This year the People's Republic has concluded trade agreements with Japan and the European Community, amongst others. All these activities suggest that China's economic policy is set on a new course.