Chinese industrial reform: Accomplishments, prospects, and implications

Why has China grown so fast when conditions thought to be necessary for growth were absent? Nowhere is this dissonance greater than in China's industrial sector, which has recorded big gains in output, employment, and exports in the absence of privatization, effective bankruptcy legislation, and other policy innovations widely seen as prerequisites for successful reform. This essay reviews the accomplishments of Chinese industry since the start of reform in 1978, focusing on the internal dynamics of the development process; considers the future of partial reform; and discusses the implications of China's industrial reform experience.