ABSTRACT
The Chinese government implemented the first systematic industrial policy on the food industry, including the brewing industry, in the early 1980s. This policy emerged out of special political and economic conditions. In political terms, the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Party Central Committee held in December 1978 marked the end of the Cultural Revolution. Economically, China adopted the ‘open policy’ in cities and the ‘household contract responsibility system’1 (cheng bao ze ren zhi) in rural areas. Under the contract responsibility system, farmers were provided with an incentive to invest in and work on the land. Consequently, food production rose significantly (China Food Industry Almanac 1985: 26), putting an end to the massive famine that occurred in the 1960s. This sharp increase in the food supply called for a corresponding development of the food processing industry and the guidance of appropriate industrial policies.
