Reform and opening up in the area of circulation: a retrospect

Abstract

中国流通领域的改革开放是建立社会主义市场经济体制的重要内容。改革开放之前，中国流通领域长期存在高度集中而又封闭分割的特征，国内与国外市场、内贸与外贸相互隔绝，存在两个管理体制和两种政策环境。经过30年的改革开放，中国流通领域的体制环境已经面貌一新，开放型现代流通体制框架已经初步建立，与WTO接轨的商务管理体制已见雏形，商贸服务业的产业延伸促进了体制创新。改革的主要经验是，以对外开放为先导，以开放促改革；改革遵循先易后难、边破边立、逐步完善的渐进路径；突破传统商品流通领域框架，建立了容纳更多服务业的新商务体制。改革经验的经济学含义是，选择出口导向开放战略作为改革突破口具有必然性；商品与服务流通的市场结构与人力资本存在内在联系；扩大非物质产品流通是体制创新的重要基础。 China's reform and opening up in the area of circulation are an important component of the establishment of a socialist market economy system. Prior to reform and opening up, this area had long been characterized by a high level of centralization, closedness and segmentation. The domestic market was isolated from the overseas market and internal trade from foreign trade, and each had its own management system and policy environment. The thirty years of reform and opening up, however, have put a new face on the institutional environment of circulation: an open and modern system of circulation has been basically established, an embryonic WTO‐consistent business administration system is taking shape, and the extension of business and trade service industries has facilitated institutional innovation. The main experience of reform is the following: first, taking opening up as the leading principle and making use of opening up to promote reform; second, following an incremental path of dealing with the easier issues before the harder ones, building up while you tear down, and gradual improvement; and third, breaking through the traditional framework of commodity circulation and establishing new business systems that accommodate more service industries. The economic implication of China's reform experience is as follows: an export‐oriented strategy must inevitably be chosen as the point of entry for reform; there is an inherent linkage between market structure and human capital in the circulation of goods and services; and expanding the circulation of non‐material goods is an important basis for institutional innovation.