ABSTRACT
In 1949, at the time of the founding of the People's Republic, China faced uneven patterns of industrial development, with output highly concentrated in the coastal regions. In the next three decades, China adopted a Leninist planning system to rectify such regional imbalances. The geographical structure of industries levelled out to some extent. By the late 1970s, the Chinese government under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping had recognised the problems of a command economy and had steadily introduced elements of a market economy. Focus shifted to efficiency and rapid economic growth.
