ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a less obvious facet of convergence theory. It examines the primary impact of China's post-Mao economic reforms on the Soviet Union; people then turn to an analysis of the secondary, reciprocal impact of Gorbachev's political reforms upon the People's Republic of China (PRC). The long-term prospects for renewed convergence under the auspices of socialist reform seem reasonably favorable, despite China's hostile reaction to Gorbachev's initiatives in Eastern Europe. Although the production responsibility system (PRS) has been the jewel in the crown of Chinese agricultural reform, there are several reasons for Soviet misgivings about plunging in more boldly. The discussion focuses on two questions? First, what has been the reciprocal impact of reform efforts in several countries? Second, what are the implications of convergent reforms on the newly emerging Sino-Soviet relationship, with special reference to the extraordinary sequence of events that shook the Communist world beginning in the spring of 1989?
