文档介绍：JOHN FRANKENSTEIN
The Chinese Foreign Trade
Environment
The Beijing Wind Revisited
The events of the spring of 1989 in China symbolize, in a paradoxical way, both
the esses and the failures of China's decade-long "Second Revolution." That
massive numbers of citizens firom all walks of life in virtually every major city in
the People's Republic rose up to express their dissatisfaction with the ineptitude
of the Chinese authorities showed how far the process of reform had tempered
fear and encouraged social relaxation. The repression that followed was a classic
expression of the Chinese ruling circles' age-old obsession with absolute intemal
control, a shocking and painful reminder that, despite the regime's promises to
depoliticize Chinese life, ultimately politics do indeed remain mand. One
important aspect of that "Second Revolution" was, of course, economic. This
involved the partial introduction of market forces throughout the economy and
the devolution of management authority away from controlling central bureau-
cracies to the locality and enterprise levels. A salient part—^but only a part—of
these refonns was an opening of the Chinese economy to foreign trade and
investment This in tum was panied by a broad range of other economic
measures, including the elaboration of a series of laws and regulations that
formed the basis of an mercial code, the expansion of investment
zones, the enactment of special provisions to encourage foreign investment, and
the proliferation of enterprises in the private and collective sectors.
As of late 1989, much of this economic reform package appears to be at risk:
the regime talks of strengthening the central planning apparatus and reintroduc-
ing subsidies, of increased austerity measures, and of moves against the Chinese
private sector. Just how these steps will affect the foreign business sector is
unclear, but certainly a slowdown in the larger economy cannot but have a
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