"Five-Year Plans" have been a cornerstone of Chinese social and economic development initiatives since 1953. During the thirteenth of these periods between 2016 and 2020, the global economy has experienced instability after the financial crisis, as well as political and economic reconfiguration. Drawing on modern economic theory, this book comprehensively discusses China's economic development in this crucial phase. The book analyzes the international economic environment, and asks how China’s continued reform and opening-up can fit with the new era of economic globalization. It also presents the difficulties China faces in such fields as urbanization, the coordination of regional development and urban-rural integration, economic reform, and the reform of factor markets and state-owned enterprises. The book outlines many medium-term development rules along with key characteristics of China's economy, helping international readers fully understand likely future trajectories for the Chinese economy.

The tremendous success of China's economic reform, in contrast with the vast difficulties encountered by the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries in their transition, has attracted worldwide attention. Using a historical, comparative and analytic approach grounded in mainstream economics, the authors develop a consistent and rational framework of state-owned enterprises and individual agents to analyze the internal logic of the traditional planning system. They also explain why the Chinese economy grew slowly before the market-oriented reform in 1979 but became one of the fastest growing economies afterwards, and why the vigour/chaos cycle became part of China's reform process. The book also addresses to the questions that whether China can continue its trend of reform and development and become the largest economy in the world in the early 21st century, and what the general implications of China's experience of development and reform are for other developing and transition economies. The first edition has been well-received and is the standard textbook or reference for students and researchers of China studies. In this thoroughly revised edition, the authors have updated the data and information in the book and include a new chapter on the impact of China's WTO accession on its economic reforms and causes of the current deflation.

This book presents a collection and analysis of original policy documents, newly translated into English, from a key period of Chinese development, providing both a current and a retrospective analysis of China's economic reform efforts. Topics dealt with include the evolution of Chinese economic strategy; economic planning and the spread of market mechanisms; technology transfer in industry; evolution of an agricultural system; the development of population policy; and foreign economic relations. The collection will be of great interest not only to scholars and students of Chinese studies, but also to professionals and social scientists concerned with China but unable to read source documents in Chinese.

Abstract: The author applies a systems-oriented "holistic" approach to China's radical economic reforms during the past quarter of a century. He characterizes China's economic reforms in terms of a multidimensional classification of economic systems. When looking at the economic consequences of China's change of economic system, he deals with both the impressive growth performance and its economic costs. The author also studies the consequences of the economic reforms for the previous social arrangements in the country, which were tied to individual work units-agriculture communes, collective firms, and state-owned enterprises. He continues with the social development during the reform period, reflecting a complex mix of social advances, mainly in terms of poverty reduction, and regresses for large population groups in terms of income security and human services, such as education and, in particular, health care. Next, the author discusses China's future policy options in the social field, whereby he draws heavily on relevant experiences in industrial countries over the years. The future options are classified into three broad categories: policies influencing the level and distribution of factor income, income transfers including social insurance, and the provision of human services.

"Five-Year Plans" have been a cornerstone of Chinese social and economic development initiatives since 1953. During the thirteenth of these periods between 2016 and 2020, the global economy has experienced instability after the financial crisis, as well as political and economic reconfiguration. Drawing on modern economic theory, this book comprehensively discusses China's economic development in this crucial phase. The book analyzes the international economic environment, and asks how China’s continued reform and opening-up can fit with the new era of economic globalization. It also presents the difficulties China faces in such fields as urbanization, the coordination of regional development and urban-rural integration, economic reform, and the reform of factor markets and state-owned enterprises. The book outlines many medium-term development rules along with key characteristics of China's economy, helping international readers fully understand likely future trajectories for the Chinese economy.

In Studies in Economic Reform renowned and influential Chinese scholar and politician Siwei Cheng outlines his theories for bringing economic reform to China in the context of the increasingly global economy.