Chinese Economists on Economic Reform: Xue Muqiao

The China Development Research Foundation is one of the leading economic and social think tanks in China, where many of the theoretical underpinnings and policy details of economic reform were formulated. This book is the first of a series which makes available to an English-speaking audience the work of the individual Chinese economists who were the architects of reform. The series provides an inside view of China’s economic reform, revealing the thinking of the reformers themselves, unlike many other books on China’s economic reform which are written by outside observers.
Xue Muqiao held many key posts including Secretary General of the Finance and Economy Commission of the Government Administrative Council, Director-General of the National Bureau of Statistics and consultant of State Council Office for Restructuring the Economic Systems. His work included eliminating the serious inflation of the early years of the People’s Republic, participating in drafting and implementing the First and Second Five-year Plans, and establishing the initial statistics system and price management system. His great contribution was to the development of economic theories and practice following China’s economic reform.

China Development Research Foundation is one the leading economic think tanks in China, providing a base where many leading Chinese economists have developed the details of Chinese economic reform.
Xue Manqiao’s major publications include China’s Socialist Economy, Preliminary Opinions on Economic Restructuring and Several Theoretical Issues on Socialist Economy.

1. Introduction 2. A Letter to Comrades Deng Xiaoping and Li Xiannian 3. A practice-based review of more than two decades of economic work 4. Prefaces and Postscripts to China’s Socialist Economy 5. Problems Discovered while investigating Shanghai's Economic Restructuring 6. Explanatory Notes to the Preliminary Opinions on Economic Restructuring 7. Opinions on Resuming and Expanding Shanghai’s Role as a National Economic Center 8. Comments on Price Control Regulations 9. Comments on Banking System Reform 10. Advice on Seizing Opportunities to Adjust the Price System 11. A Modern Economy Needs a Modernized Financial System 12. The Key to ‘Price Adjustment’ with regard to the Means of Production is to Control Capital Construction 13. Strengthen Macro-control via Economic Measures (extract) 14. Excessive Distribution of National Income and Inflation (extract) - Looking Back at our Economic Work over the past Eight Years 15. Conscientiously summing up the experience of ten years of Reform - An Important Lesson 16. A Suggestion on Reforming the Fiscal Contract system 17. Overcome Difficulties through Deepened Reform 18. Combine Marxism with the Chinese Revolution 19. Reform Is to Set Free Productive Forces