China—EC Economic Relations: Experience and Prospects

This paper attempts to analyse the economic relations between China and the EC since the opening up of China in 1977 in terms of China’s foreign trade and the EC’s investment in China. China has in recent years undergone very drastic changes in its economic system. The reforms introduced are experimental and hence policies tend to undergo much variation at various times. Specifically, the foreign trade system has been changing back and forth from centralisation to decentralisation. In industry, the emphasis was on heavy industry at one time but on light industry at another time. In agriculture, it is sometimes grains and sometimes cash crops that are given top priority. Similarly, consumption was promoted at one time but discouraged at a later stage. China’s external economic relations should be discussed in the light of China’s reforms and restructuring and the stop-go policies that have accompanied such reforms and restructuring.