Forty Years of Chinese Reforms : An Overview

Abstract

This introductory essay explores some of the key issues in China's economic reforms during the past 40 years. Reforms and liberalization have progressed unevenly, but generally the trend has been towards more market-oriented economic system. However, the primacy of Chinese Communist Party has never been seriously challenged. China's membership in the World Trade Organization has fostered much deeper integration with the rest of the global economy, and therefore effects of China's reforms have spread to other countries as well. In the recent years China's reform drive seems have faltered. Also, demographic trends have turned, and working-age population is declining. These developments together may mean clearly lower growth going forward.