Recent events in China have revealed a nation struggling to reconcile its new thinking with its traditional institutions and practices. This book provides an assessment of one aspect of the reform process: the foreign trade system. The reforms in China have heralded a new openness in Chinese economic policy. In this book, his first full length work on the subject, Dr Hsu investigates the impact of the reforms on China's foreign trade and, consequently, on the domestic economy. In the process, he examines such issues as the role of foreign trade in China's economic development, the institutional changes involved in the foreign trade reforms, and the efficiency of the new foreign trade incentive system. He then evaluates the possibilities for further foreign trade reforms in the future. In conclusion, Dr Hsu suggests that Chinese enterprises have been slow to respond to changes in domestic and international market conditions, and that exposure to foreign markets has exacerbated inflation problems in the Chinese economy. As a result, he finds that China has not enjoyed the full potential benefits of its reform program. This book will be of interest to economists, political scientists, Asian studies specialists, and others interested in the economic ramifications of China's reform process. It is a timely and thorough account of this crucial aspect of reform and an important addition to the growing body of literature on the restructuring of modern communist states.