ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the organisational framework of Chinese planning, including the methods of plan formulation and execution. It discusses the economic problems which may be said to result from the present procedures, and then provides a brief account of the steps already taken to introduce a number of minor or experimental reforms into the planning system. The possible contradictions between regional and ministerial forms of organisation of the planning system are especially interesting when considered in the light of Soviet experience. The Soviet Union attempted to organise the whole of its planning system on a regional basis between 1957 and 1964. If China's planning system really bears the close resemblance to the Soviet system that is often claimed, then we should expect financial matters to be relatively unimportant as compared to plan targets referring to approved quantities of inputs and outputs.
