China in the 1980's : centre-province relations in a reforming socialist state

This book analyses the changing nature of centre-province relations in China in a period of rapid economic change. It aims to show how leadership conflicts over the nature and scope of economic change gave rise to an incremental and reactive reform process. The resulting partially reformed economic system not only gave many provincial leaders the ability to ignore central economic commands, but the perceived consequences of reform also increased the desire of some local leaders to assert their independence. When the post-Mao leadership initiated economic reform in 1978, they set in motion a process which resulted in a fundamental redistribution of power within the Chinese party-state. Reducing central administrative economic control was a key component of the reform process. But although the decentralization of power to the provinces and producers was a deliberate central strategy, the resulting growth of provincial economic autonomy has surprised and angered even the architects of the decentralization reforms. China's reformist central leaders must take their share of the blame for the unexpected growth in provincial power in the 1980s. Their decision to adopt an incremental and reactive approach to reform may have been the most practical way of changing the economic system, but it never-the-less prepared the ground for provincial considerations gradually to overtake national concerns in local economic decision making. The resulting redistribution of power between centre and provinces has not only obstructed the attainment of some of the goals of reform, but also has important implications for the future trajectory of the Chinese political system. Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-11 Central Control and Provincial Power....Pages 12-38 Unpacking the Centre....Pages 39-54 Central Policy and Provincial Responses....Pages 55-81 Centralization and Decentralization....Pages 82-98 Regional Development Policy....Pages 99-119 The Financial Dimension....Pages 120-141 Conclusions....Pages 142-156 Back Matter....Pages 157-180 Shaun Gerard Breslin. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.