ronment of the PRC remain in place (China's, 1991, p. 15; Chu-yuan, 1990, pp. 253-256).
Economic reforms in the PRC proceeded on two separate, but related fronts. The first front involved only the country's domestic economy, while the second front was concerned with increasing foreign participation in the PRC economy (Yenai, 1990, pp. 707-721). Internal economic changes were concerned primarily with the degree of centralization in economic management, while those related to increasing foreign economic participation were concerned with developing the parameters of such participation.
In contemporary China, pragmatism has taken precedence over ideology. Where Mao Ze Dung was quoted as saying that it is better to be Red than to be expert, his eventual successor, Deng Xiaoping', was quoted to the effect that it makes no difference whether a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice. The pragmatic approach of Deng was, in a sense, a return to the pragmatic attitude present in the earliest days of the PRC, which was manifested in its determination to deal with all countries in foreign trade, regardless of political orientation, so long as bases of equality, mutual benefit, and non interference in one another's domestic affairs were maintained. That attitude continues to prevail (Obi, 1991, pp. 46-48).
From their inception, the PRC's economic readjustments were made within the framework of a comprehensive plan. The earliest of the reforms, however, concentrated on the country's agricultural sector. The name responsibility system was applied to economic reform in agriculture (Koo, 1990, pp. 797-798).
The responsibility system has been described as an incentive farming scheme (Koo, 1990, pp. 801-802). While this description is true, as far as it goes, the responsibility system is far more complex and comprehensive than simply an incentive farming program. Centralized planning and control is maintained in agricul...