Kontinuität und Handel in der chinesischen Entwicklung. Der Modernisierungskurs im Lichte der Theorie autozentrierter Entwicklung

Abstract This article attempts to answer two sets of questions : - How is the presently pursued modernization strategy to be interpreted in the light of China's development after 1949? How deep is the break with the past, how radical the discontinuity? - Does this recently proclaimed modernization strategy contradict the developmental rationale of a dissociative/autocentric development strategy? Is China integrating itself once again in the capitalist world market, and what would that imply? In the first part of the article, the author tries to emphasise the tremendous continuity in China's development after 1949 despite all line struggles and political turmoil. It is argued that modernization strategy responds to objective problems in the Chinese economy, particularly to the logistic growth curves in key sectors of the rural hinterland. Here a transition of extensive to intensive economy is required for which more sophisticated inputs from the modern sector (to be further modernized itself) will have to be provided. In the second part it is argued that modernization strategy and highly sophisticated technological inputs do not contradict a dissociative/ autocentric development on the actual developmental level China has reached within three decades of local development efforts. These inputs from more productive foreign economies must, however, be selective and "digestable", e.g. , there must be enough local adaptation capabilities in order to adapt foreign expertise and technology to local needs. After 1949 such capabilities were created in China and can now be made use of.