ABSTRACT
After the open and reform policy, the phrase yu guoji jiegui – literally, “connecting [Chinese railroads] to international tracks” – became a catchword in the Chinese political vocabulary. This phrase is often translated into English as “catching up with international standards” or “communicating with the international community,” and conveys the Chinese government’s strong desire, after thirty years of isolation, to open itself up not only to foreign businesses and international aid, but also to the rules of the game as played by the outside world. The process was initiated at the urgings of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1984, at which time the government started to reach out to the international non-governmental sector (Huang 2000: 3).
