ABSTRACT
In contrast to the Soviet Union, Hungary and Bulgaria, where the Communist Party’s monopoly on power ended and new regimes have proclaimed the transition to capitalism, China’s Communist Party, like its Vietnamese counterpart, retains its monopoly on political power precisely through its capacity to reap and distribute economic and political benefits from far-reaching changes in the institutions and structures of the rural economy. China has achieved a redefinition in the relationships among households, markets and the state, and important changes in the nature and productivity of the rural economy that far exceed the scope and depth of rural transformation in the former Soviet Union, Hungary, Bulgaria and Cuba.
