State Reforms in the People’s Republic of China Since 1976: A Historical Perspective

Abstract

Since the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, and particularly since the first session of the 5th National People’s Congress (NPC) in early 1978, the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has implemented various political reforms in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The explicit context of reform has been a reaction to the political practices and policies pursued during the period of the Cultural Revolution, 1966–76. In particular, state reforms have been presented as the means to encourage a revitalised and autonomous (but by no means independent) structure of government, and a return to the political status quo of the early 1960s. Some commentators have regarded the word as the deed, arguing, moreover, that the PRC has returned to the orthodox ‘Leninist-Stalinist’ model it had adopted during the early 1950s, and which exists in other communist party states (see, for instance, Walker, 1980, p. 12). It is, of course, too soon to assess what the actual impact of state reforms will be, as opposed to their intention, not least since many have only just been implemented and it is reasonable to assume that more reforms are on the way. However, it is possible, by considering recent reforms not only in their immediate context but also from a wider historical perspective to assess the limits of their possible significance. Specifically, it is possible to consider further the claims that those reforms may lead to the state’s relative autonomy, a return to the administrative and political framework of the early 1960s, and even a return to the ‘organisational orthodoxy’ of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.