Socialist State Planning Reconsidered: Regional Policy in China, 1949–1989

Abstract

In this paper regional policy in the People's Republic of China over the last four decades is critically reviewed. Particular attention is paid to the ideological and political dimensions, and their changes, as guided by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which accompany the need to modernize China's underdeveloped economy. In part 1 of the paper the interpretations of the urban question, within the Marxist–Maoist school of thought, upon which the policy rationales and justifications are based, are outlined. Then, a two-part historical–contextual analysis of the regional policy and its development in China with a tentative schema is provided, that focuses on so-called ‘town–country’ contradictions and processes of urbanization and other spatial issues. Part 4 is a synthesis of the development pattern including a discussion of the underlying dynamics. The paper ends with remarks on the reemergence of ideological–political struggles within and beyond the party, and its repercussions for the urban question in the coming decade.