Reforming China's Bureaucracy, 1979-82

The central feature of Zhao's 1982 package was the reintroduction of a system of responsibility for administrators. Decentralized power and clearly defined responsibility areas are vital for such a system as are skilled manpower and adequate financial resources. Also needed is an adequate means of evaluating performance. Several constraints which limit the ability of China's authorities to achieve reforms are identified, but the country's leaders face considerable resistance and success of the reform effort remains in doubt.-B.W.Beeley