ABSTRACT
Economic reform since 1979 has been regarded as a 'third revolution' in China's countryside. The abolition of the People's Communes and the re-implementation of household farming systems gave peasants more control over production and boosted agricultural output. The revival of China's rural markets in the reform era is attributed by some scholars to the unleashing of market forces following the withdrawal of state control. This argument is unconvincing because it oversimplifies what has happened in China. This chapter examines China's rural market development during the reform period by employing the contextual approach and spatial concepts. It examines changing political economy since 1979 and its impact on rural market growth and development, as is the government's role in establishing rural markets, and their subsequent operation and development. The chapter argues that the current market system is different from the traditional one as described by Skinner. The government has shifted from direct to indirect surveillance.
