ABSTRACT
This chapter examines locality effects and their impact upon the marketing patterns of Deqing and Dongguan. Locality effects include the level of self-sufficiency and incomes of peasants, the degree of commercialisation, road routes, and administrative principles. The chapter investigates the interactions between peasants and rural markets in Deqing and Dongguan. It establishes the significance of peasants in shaping rural market development in their roles as both consumers and producers, and how they provide the dynamics for growth. The level of self-sufficiency crucially affects China's rural market development. It is a critical indicator of the interrelationship between the production patterns of a specific place and its economic activities. The discussion demonstrates that the county's embryonic market development has, in turn, enforced high levels of self-sufficiency. Stagnant trading activities result in difficulties in selling surpluses. Government land requisition has effectively weakened rather than reinforced the self-sufficiency of peasants in Deqing.
