Die Grundzüge der Wirtschaftspolitik der Volksrepublik China seit der Kulturrevolution

Abstract This paper attempts to describe the main points of the economic policy of the People’s Republic of China since the end of the Cultural Revolution. It is maintained that the dualistic development strategy instituted at the outset of the Great Leap Forward has been adhered to all along. The balanced growth of what the Chinese planners see as the three main sectors of the economy has been the unchanging aim, with agriculture as the base and heavy industry as the leading factor, light industry providing the link. In pursuit of this the period under discussion is shown to follow a more pragmatic line characterised by calls for efficient and non-wasteful management of the economy and the payment of “rational wages” than did the more ideologically inclined policy of the Cultural Revolution, both nevertheless being essentially variations of the common basic strategy outlined above. A review of selected practical problems encountered in implementing this strategy is given in the final section.