ABSTRACT
Since China began to implement its reform and opening-up policies in 1978, its development and reform have centered on two T-changes, namely the transition of economic institutions and the transformation of social structure. The Chinese experience is often analysed in economic terms, with special attention given to the extent to which it conforms with or deviates from the more general development experiences. Attempts have been made to understand China from the theoretical framework of transition from a planned economy to a market economy. China is also analysed as the newest example of the East Asian development experience, following Japan and the Four Little Dragons of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. More recently, China is also considered one of the four emerging big economies, along with Brazil, Russia and India, in a framework widely known as “BRIC.”
