ABSTRACT
Owing to variations in geographical areas, endowments, political ideologies and the implicit development strategies, the economic development processes ofChina, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan have been distinctively different, especially in the pre-reform period. The diversity in economic performances and structures, on the other hand, has provided an opportunity for this group of economies to cooperate by exchanging their comparative advantages and developing complementary economic relationships. If not for the period of central planning during which the economic growth and development of China were seriously undermined, there would have been no introduction of economic reforms in the late 1970s, which lifted someof the restrictions on economic activities. Likewise,HongKong,Macau and Taiwan would have had fewer chances to invest in Mainland China and take advantage of the country’s backwardness, lower costs of production and economic potential.
