ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a distillation of common assumptions about foreign economic policy, as expressed in hundreds of articles published on the subject in China as the "opening up" developed during the decade after 1978. It identifies assumptions held in common by most Chinese commentators. The apparent agreement is magnified because Party officials and published authors have no choice but to voice support for whatever line is currently set by national leaders. The best way to understand the intentions behind China's opening up and its limitations is to examine how official and semi-official Chinese commentators have explained them; especially during the crucial years after the opening up reforms were initiated. Published Chinese analysis of the opening policies during the decade after 1978 describes an international system of competitive states using economic policies to serve national, not class, interests. Because of competition using advanced production technologies, "international economic relations are characterized by increased friction and fierce competition."
