ABSTRACT
Introduction Promoted by the reform and open-door policy, the private sector in China has grown dramatically over the past 30 years, from ‘being constrained or even forbidden to develop’ to its current status of ‘an important constituent of the socialist market economy’. While the course underlying its rapid development has been full of obstacles, the trend has been unstoppable. In the development course, there is no doubt that exploration of bi-directional and interactive models of reforms including ‘from bottom to top’ and ‘from top to bottom’ play a crucial role, alongside bold and intense debates among economists. Through a systematical review of theories and practices, this paper looks back at the arguments about certain critical issues concerned with the development of the Chinese private sector. It furthermore proposes some of the directions for future development.
