Transition from Small Society to Market Economy Unit : Economic Reform of State-owned Enterprises in China

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Transition from Small Society to Market

Economy Unit : Economic Reform of State‑owned Enterprises in China

著者 KIKUCHI Michiki

出版者 Institute of Comparative Economic Studies, Hosei University

journal or

publication title

Journal of International Economic Studies

volume 11

page range 1‑12

year 1997‑03

URL http://doi.org/10.15002/00002131

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Cl997TbelnstitulcorComparativcEconomicSIudics,HoseiUniveTsity

TransitionfromSmallSocietyto MaｒｋｅｔＥｃｏｎｏｍｙＵｎｉｔ

－Ｅｃｏｎｏｍｉｃｒｅｆｂｒｍｏｆｓｔａｔｅ－ｏｗｎｅｄｅｎｔｅｒｐｒｉｓｅｓｉｎＣｈｉｎａ－

MiclnikiKikuchi

Fhcz`J妙q/Ebo"omicS,Ｈ０ｓｅｉＵ>zi…妙

Iｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ

Accordingtothe‘WorldDeveIopmentReportl996,，betweenl978-94years ChinahasincreaseditsGDPatanaverageannualrateof8.9％（worldBank,1996, ppl88-189)．ThismatchedSouthKo｢eaasthehighestgrowthrecordinthｅｗｏｒｌｄＳｕｃｈａｒａｐｉｄｇｒｏｗｔｈｏｆｔｈｅＣｈｉneseeconomyunquestionablycouldnothavebeen achievedwithoutthesprCadandpermeationofmarketprinciplesintoChinese

society・

TheChineseeconomicperfbrmancemaybehighlyregardedfbrthetwofbllow‐

ingreasons;oneisthatChina,asoneofthedevelopingcountries,tookofTsmoothly demonstratingtoothercountriestheeffectivenessofmarketmechanismfbreconomic development・TheotheristhatChinahassuccessfilllyachievedthetransfbrmation ofitseconomicsystemfi･oｍｏｎｅｂａｓｅｄｏｎcentralplanningmethodtoonebasedon marketmechanism・EspeciallyｗｈｅｎｃｏｍｐａｒｅｄｔｏｔｈｅｌｂｒｍｅｒＵ・ＳＳ・Ｒａ､dEastem Europeancountriesthatca､'tgetoutofeconomicstagnationbecauseoffnilureto switchsmoothlyovertomarketmechanism,china，sgradualintroductionofmarket mechanismisworthbeingobserved・

ＮｏｗＣｈｉｎａｉｓｆａｃｉｎｇｔｈｅＨｎａｌｐｈａｓｅｓｏftherefbrmofitseconomicsystem・

AfterthegrandtourofSouthChinabyDengXiaoPinginsupportoftheproｃｅｓｓ

ｏｆｅｃｏｎｏｍｉｃｒｅｆｂｒｍｉｎｔｈｅｓｐｎｎｇｏｆｌ９９２，theChineseGovernmentandChinese

CommunistParty（CCP）acceptedtheswitchofeconomicsystemtoadeftlcto

marketeconomy・

ThiswasfbllowedinNovemberofｌ９９３ｂｙｔｈｅｄｅｃｉｓｉｏｎｏｆｔｈｅｔｈｉｒｄｐｌｅnum

ofthel4thCentralCommitteeoftheChineseCommunistParty（ＣＣＰ）toproceed withtheconstructionofasocialistmarketeconomicsystem（adoptedNovemberl4，

19931Initsdecision,theCentralCommitteestressedthattheestablishmentofa

systemofmodernenterpriseswasthemostpressingproblemfacingthecountryand concludedthatenterprisesshouldbｅｗｅｅｄｅｄｏｕｔｏｎｔｈｅｂａｓｉｓｏｆｍａｒｋｅｔcompetition andpriorityshouldbegiventoefHciencywhileconsideringthesystemofequaldistri- butionofincoｍｅ・ＴｈａｔｉｓｔｈｅＣＣＰｔｏｏｋｃｏｍｐｅｔｉｔｉｏｎａsitsguidinglightandafnrmed

thebare,primitivemarketprincipleofsurvivaloftheHttest．

１

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TmnsitionlTomSmallSocietytoMlhrkctEconomyUnit

This,accordingly,becameaffirmedasanationalprincipleandledtothedeftlcto

eradicationofrestrictionsoneconomicactivitiesonthegroundsoftheirinfringing

uponsocialistideals・

ＴｈｅｔｈｅｍｅｏｆｔｈｅｃｕｒｒｅｎｔａｒｔｉｃｌｅｉｓｔｏｔｈｒｏｗｌｉｇｈｔｏｎｗｈａｔｋｉｎｄｏｆｍａｒｋｅｔｅＣＯ‐

nｏｍｉｃｓｙｓｔｅｍｉｓｎｏｗｇｒｏｗｉｎｇｉｎＣｈｉｎａａｓａｒｅｓｕｌｔｏｆｔｈｅｐａｓｔｌ７ｙｅａｒｓｏｆeconomic refbrms,startingfi｢ｏｍｌ９７９,boostedbyDeng，stour,andcontinuingtoday，andthe recenthigheconomicgrowthWhatarethefeaturesoftheChinesemodelofmarket economics,sopointedlydifYbrentfiPomthoseofJapanandothercountries？Thiswill beanalyzedfTomtherealityandprocessofrefbrmsofstate-ownedenterprisessystem．

Ｒｅａｌｉｔｙａｎｄｃａｕｓｅｓｏｆｄｅｐｒｅｓｓｉｏｎｓｏfstate-ownedenterprises

ＡｓｉｓｔｈｅｃａｓｅｗｉｔｈｆｂｒｍｅｒＵＳ・SRandEastEuropeancountries，inChinathe refbrmofeconomicsystemofstate-ownedenterprisesisthemostdifY1cultproblem・

ThecentralgovemmentbeganfUll-scalerefbrmsofstate-ownedenterprisesbackin l984,andfimdamentalaimofgovernmentiｓｔｏｃｈａｎｇｅｔｈｅｂａｓicdirectionofthe refbrmstoreorganizationbasedontheprinciplesofseparationoftheenterprises fromthegovernment，independentaccounting，andindividualresponsibilityfbr profitsandlosses、OverlOyearshavepassedsincethestartoftherefbrms、A1though someenterprisesincludinｇＣapitalSteelCompanyandButtonE1ectromicCompany，

havebenefltedfromtheeHbctsofrefbrms，quiteafbwenterprisescontinuetobe unstablebusiness-wise，despitetheeliminationofthegovemmentsubsidiescrutch TheanticipatedtransfbrmationintorationalbusinesseshasnotnecessarilycoｍｅｔｏｐａｓａＴｏｂｅｇｉｎｗｉｔｈ,ｉｔｉｓｎｅｃｅｓｓａｒｙｔｏｍａｋｅｓｕｒｅｔｈｅｒｅａｌityofdepressionsofstate‐

ownedenterprises・

Ｉｎｔｈｅｐｒｏｃｅｓｓｏｆｒｅｆｂｒｍｏｆｅｃｏｎｏｍｉｃsystem,therehasappearedanincreasing varietyoftypesofenterprisesnotonｌｙｉｎｔｈｅａｒｅａｏｆｏｗｎｅｒｓｈｉｐｂｕｔａｌｓｏｏfmanage‐

ment・Ｉｔｉｓｃｌｅａｒｔｈａｔｔｈｅｒａｔｅｏｆａnnualgrowthofproductionofstate-ownedenter‐

priseshasbeengreatlybelowthoseoftownshipenterprisesandprivateenterprises・

Fig.１ｓｈｏｗｓsuchatendencybasedontheresultsofcalculationbyMaterialProduc‐

tionSystemthatwasusedinsocialistcountriesAsaresult,theproportionofprod‐

uctbystate-ownedenterprisestothetotalproductofnationaleconomｙｈａｓｂｅｃｏｍｅＦｉｇ．１AnnualGrowthRateOflndustrialProduction，1979-95．

（atcurrentprices）

加釦％

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4０ ^００

鋒。一一一｜Ｆ一ｖ｜／／←、

２

、７９．８０，８１，８２，８３，８４，８５，８６’８７，８８，８９，９０，９１，９２，９３，９４’９５

(1)Statc-ownedenlcrpriscs(2)Towmshipcntcrprises(3)TotalSociaIProducl（MPS）

Sourcc:ChmaStatistica1Yca「Book,（1996)．

２

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Fig.２ChangesofShareDflndusmalProdmctionbyOwnership，

1978,1980,1985,1990,1915.

％ ④③

、別釦㈹、０１

②

①

４１］

１９７８１９８０１１８５１９９０１９９５

①Statc-ownedentcrprises

②Collective-owncdenterp｢ises

③Privateenterpriscs

④Othertypesofcntcrpnscs

Sourcc:ChinaStatisticalYcarBook,（'981,1986,1991,1996)．

lessandlesalnl978,justbefbrestartingtoshifttheeconomicsystemtowardmarket mechanismsystem,theproportionattained77､6％,thendroppedto５４６％ｉｎｌ９９０，

andｔｏ３４％ｉｎ1995．Ontheotherhand,theproportionoftownshipenterprisein-

creasedobviouslytobealmostsimilartothatofstate-ownedenterprises（Fig.2)．

Inspiteofthistrend,theroleofstate-ownedenterpriseshasneverlostitsimpor- tanceinthenationaleconomy，Mostofthetypicalbigscaleenterprisehavebeen alwaysstate-owned・Particularlyinthefieldofnaturalsoumes,energy,andmaterial industry,thestate-ownedenterpriseshavｅａｌｍostmonopolizedthemarkets・

Ｎｏｍａｔｔｅｒｈｏｗｗｅｌｏｏｋａｔｉｔ,noonecandenythatstate-ownedenterpnsesare introuble・Fig.３clearlyshowsusthefactthattheproductivityandefTiciencyofthe enterprisesareinclinedtodecline・AstherateofinHationwasquitehighduringthese years,thesubstantialproductivityandefnciencymusthavedeclinedevenmorethan isshowninFi9.3．Inadditiontothis,ｗｅshouldnotoverlookthefactthattownship enterprisesshowthesamedeclinationofproductivityandefTiciencyasstate-owned enterprises,whilenotafbweconomistsinChinaandelsewhereregardthefactorof developmentoftownshipenterprisesasmarketmechanism・Itmaybesaidthatdevel‐

Fig.３TrendsofEfficielucyofPmduction，1179-,5.

ｙｕａｎ４０＜

へ

3５－へ～ _へ

３２２１１０５０５０二コ０

一

～ ^～

一

^－－－＝

0１

'７８，７９，８０，８１，８２，８３，８４，８５’８６，８７，８８，８９，９０，９１，９２０９３’９４，９５

(1)ProfitaHudtaxperlOOyuanFixedAssｅｔｓ（Statc-owncdcnLcrpriscs）

(2)ProfitandtaxperlOOyuanFunds（State-ownedeIutemriseS）

(3)ProntandtaxpcrlOOyuanFumds（Townshipcntcrpri9es）

Source:ChinaStatisticalYea「Book,（1996)，

３

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TransilionnomSmalISocictyloMarkctEconomyUIDiI

opmentofbothstate-ownedandtownshipenterpriseshavebeenrealizeｄｎｏｔｂｙｉｍ‐

provementofmanagementofenterprises,butbythemereexpansionofequipment

fbrproductionSuchatrendistheｊｕｓｔｔｈｅｈｏｔｐｏｉｎｔａｔｉｓｓｕｅｔｈａｔＰｒｏｆessor KrugumanofStanfbrdUniversｉｔｙｒａｉｓｅｄｉｎｈｉｓ“ＴｈｅＭｙｔｈｏｆｔｈｅＡｓｉa,sMiracle,,

(Kruguman,1994lThisdepressionofstate-ownedenterprisesleadstoadeficitin thebalancesheetofenterprises、ＴｈｅｐｒｏｂｌｅｍｏｆｔｈｅｄｅＨｃｉｔｈａｓｂｅｅｎｒｅgardedas barometeroftheneedfbrrefbrmofeconomicsystemasfnrasstate-ownedenterprises

areconcerned・Sincel994,thedegreeofdeHcitandtotalnumberofsuchenterprises

hasrapidlyincreased,andthishasresultedintheappearanceofserioussocialprob‐

lemssuchasbankruptcyandunemployment・

SomephasesofdeHcitsareexpressedintheproportionofstate-ownedenterprises

whosebalancesheetisdeHcit（Fig.４)．Theincreaseordecreaseoftheseenterprises

iscontrarytotheoveralｌｔｒｅｎｄｏｆｔｈｅＧＮＰ・Thatmechanismisexplainedasfbllows；

highｇｒｏｗｔｈ・highincome→strictcontrolofmoneysupply--depressionofgoods→

increaseofstock--Iackofmoney→deHcit，Inaddition，speedandseverityofthis phenomenondiffiersaccordingtotheindustrialclassiflcation，Butthereareother factorstobeexplained

Scholarsandotherswhoareconcernedwiththisproblemaresubstantiallyin agreementthatthereasonsfbrthesedepressionsarethatthebudgetaryrestrictionsof state-ownedenterprisescontinuｅｔｏｂｅｌａｘ・Thatis,thegovemmenthasgivenvarious typesofselfLmanagementpowerstoenterpriseswhileleavingthequestioｎｏｆｏｗｎｅｒ‐

shipoftheenterprise,sassetsvague，ｓｏｏｎｔｈｅｏｎｅｈａｎｄ，thegovemmenthasnot stoppedinterveninginenterprisemattersandsometimescontinuesprovidinggener‐

oussupport,whileontheotherhand,theenterprisesfailtoweanthemselvesoftheir relianceongovemment・Inshort,wemaybeabletoattributethetrendtotheperiod oftransitionfiPomcentralplanningsystemtowardmarketmechanismsystem・Inthis paper,thissituationwillbeanalyzedalittlemoreclosely,basedonviewsexpressed bynewspaperreportersandotherwriters・

First,letusconsiderwhoisresponsiblefbranenterprise，soperationaTheline betweenauthorityandresponsibilityofinvestorsisnotclear,ｓｏｗｈｉｌｅｔｈｅｒｅｉｓｓｏｍｅ‐

Fig.４TrendsofDeficitOfVmriouslnduStrialEnterpriseS，1986-93．

９６ＧＮＰ％

５０５０５３３２２１０８６４２０８６４２０２１１１１１

JIT三三JfrIJLDjTJiiT三三口

]ＯＬ

－－トー０６ⅡⅡⅡⅡⅡⅡⅡⅡＬＰ」「■》（ｎＭ》

1-＿Ｉ

1９８６１９８７１９８８１９８９１９９０１９９】１９９２１９９３

(1)ｃｏａｌ,(2)Food,(3)ＳI)ining,(4)MchuI,(5)Elcctronics Sourcc:ChinaStatisticalYcarBooko｢IIudl】Stry,（1994)．

４

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onetodecideonpolicies,ｎｏonetakesresponsibilityfbrthem，Underthissituation，

the,℃ｉｓ`fratemalcompetitionamongbudgetcutters，Asaresult,fbrexamPle,invest‐

mentsaremadebefbremarketsaresought・InvestmenttherefbreoftenendsuP duplicatingthatofotherenterprises，leadingtoexcessinvestment・IrresPonsible，

uncontrolledoperationscontinue，enterprisesgetintotrouble，anddeficitsarepro‐

duced

Next,thereistherelationbetweenthepartyandgovernment、Enterpriseopera- tionsaremactualitysubjecttothewhimsofpartyandgovemmentofTicials・The finaldecisionsininvestmentsaremadebypartyleaders、Theseworkstoimprove their1℃coldsduringtheirtermsbyincreasingproductionandfiscalrevenuejobsin ordertoensurethestabilityoftheregioninquestionThemoneycｏｍｅｓｆｒｏｍｔｈｅＳｔａｔｅａｎｄｔｈｅｒｉｓｋｏｆｔｈeinvestmentisbornebytheState，soenterprisestendto borrowasmuchmoneyfromtheStateaspossible・Inviewofthisinterrelationship，

wecanregardenterprisesasoneofpossessionstopartyandgovernment（Forthese issues,seethespecial化atureinJmgjiRibao[EconomicDailylMarchl2旱15,1994)．

Itisthisdefectivefbotingoftheenterprisesthatiscausingirrationaloverlapping constructionandresultingintheprotractedlowefficiencyofstate-ownedenterprises despitethemassiveinvestmentsoffimds，ＡｒｅｃｅｎｔｅｘａｍｐｌＣｏｆｔｈｉｓｗａｓｇｉｖｅｎｉｎ articleintheApril8,l993issueofRenminRibao［People，sDaily]、Accordingto thisarticle，salesofcolortelevisionsetsthesｅｐａｓｔｆｅｗｙｅａｒｓｈａｖｅｂｅｅｎｉｎｔｈｅｌＯｍｉllion-setrange,yetproductioncapacityofelectriｃｒｅ行igeratorsisl2millionunits，

ｗｈｉｌｅｔｈｅｒａｔｅｏｆｕｓｅｉｓｏｎｌｙ４０ｐｅｒcent・AmongabQut70air-conditionerenterprises，

４３ｅntelprisescanproducemorethanflvethousandperyear,ａｎｄｏｎｌｙｏｎｅｏｆｔｈｅ４３ｈａｓａｐｒｏｆｉｔａｂｌeproductioncapacity・Astotheautomobilemdustry,whilethereare morethanl60enterprises,onlysixofthemcanproducetenthousandsvehiclesand theproductioncapacityofthemajorityislessthanonethousandInthespinning industry,thesepastseveralyearseachenterprisehasbeenpurchasingmoreandmore equipmentoneafteranotherandtheresultisthatl/３oftheequipmentisunusedand theinvestmentoflZO～150hundredmillionyuan（Renminbi）hasbeenwasted、

Thisspecialorganizationalfeatureofstate-ownedenterprisecanbesaidtobea resultoftheentanglementoftheinstitutionalfbaturesinherentinsocialismandthe spreadoftheselfLmanagementsystem、

Inrelationtothis,inrecentyears,therehasbeenthepoliticalandsocialproblem ofthegovernmentdemandingthatenterprisessupplyitwithmoneyandgoods・

TheStateBureauofStatisticsranaquestionnairesurveyofproblemsfacedby state-ownenterprisesattheendofAugustl994,coveringl,Z70enterprisises・Itfbund thatabout80percentoftheenterpriseshaveseentheirdebtsriseinthepasttwoor threeyears・Themainreasonhasbeengovernmentdemandsontheseenterprises

(JingjiRibao,Dec､6,1994)．

Thenatureofthesegovernmentdemandsisdiverse、Someareunavoidableatthe presentｔｉｍｅ・Ｆｏｒexample,theleadersofmunicipalgovernmentstryingtorenovate aroadcalluponthetopmanagersofenterprisesinthecitytocontributeseveraltens ofthousandsormillionsofyuaninaccordancewiththesizeandprofitabilityofthe entelprises、Therearelimitstothefiscalcapacitiesoflocalgovernments，yetthe governmentshavetoproceedwithacertainnumberofprqjects・There,inquiteafew cases,thelocalgovernmentspasstheburdenontothesupposedbeneficiaries（Jingji Ribao,July29,1193)．Thereis,however,majordamagebeingcausedbyofncia1ｓ

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TmnSitionhomSmallSocietytoMarkctEconomyUlliI

demandingmoneyorgoods,insubstancebribes,homthestafTorpersonsincharge

ofrelatedenterprisesorunits．

InterventionorPartnership？

Ｓｅｅｎｍｔｈｉｓｗａｙ，ｉｔｓｅｅｍｓｓｅｌｆｅｖｉｄｅｎｔｔｈａｔｔｈｅｒｅｉｓｎｏｗａｙｔｏｏｖｅｒｃｏｍｅｔｈｅ

ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍｓｉｎｔｈｅorganizationofstate-ownedenterprisesotherthantheenterprises

declaringcompleteindependencefi･omthegovernment、１，０ct、２０．１９８４，ｔｈｅＣＣＰａｄｏｐｔｅｄｔｈｅ`DecisionontheRefbrmofEconomicSystem,inthethildplenumofthe

l4thCentralCommittee，sincethenpartyandgovernmentleadershaveagainand againemphasizedtheimportanceofthis・Contractsystemhasbeenintroducedasa propermethodtorealizetherefbrm,andvariouskindsofregUlationsandactshave beenpromulgatedincludｉｎｇｔｈｅ‘Ａｃｔｏｎｔhedutiesofleaderoffactoriesofallthe

people-ownedindustrialenterprises（atpresentexpressedbystate-ownedenterprise)，

(Sep15.1986),andthe`Provisionalactoncontractsystemofstate-ownedindustrial

enterprises，（Feb､27.1988)．OnAprill988,asacompilationoftheseactsandregu-

lations,ｔｈｅ`Lawonstate-ownedindustrialenterprises，wasenactedUnderthislaw，

thestate-ownedentelPriseshavebeenrecognizedassubjecttoeconomicmanagement whichisindependentfiPomgovernment・Thepropertyofentelprisesbelongstoallthe peopleandgovemmenttrustittoenterprises,basedontheprincipleofseparationof ownershipandrightofmanagemenｔ（Article2lNoorganizationmustviolatethe rightofeconomicmanagementwhichbelongstoenterprises（Article58)．However，

ｉｔｓｈｏｕｌｄｂｅｎｏｔｅｄｔｈａｔｔｈｅｒｅｉｓａｌｓｏaclausestatingthatleaderoffactorywillbe selectedbytheorganizationsofgovernment（Artic1e44)．Thismeansthatpartyand governmenthavenotnecessarilyabandonedtheirauthorityonenterprises,butonthe contraryhavekeptcontroloverthemthroughpersonnelmanagement・

ＩｎＪｕｌｙｌ９９２,ｔｈｅ`ArticlesonConversionoftheMechanismofManagementof PubliclyOwnedlndustrialEnterprises，ｗａｓｐromulgated・Thosearticleshavemade

concretetｈｅｃｏｎｔｅｎｔｓｏｆｔｈｅＬａｗｏｆ１９８８

ＴｈｅｍostimportantpointintheArticlesisthedelegationofl4typesofdeci‐

sion-makingpowersoverproductionandmanagementtostate-ownedenterprisesso astoenablethemtoconverttoorganizationsoperatingontheprinciplesofindepend‐

entmanagement，independentaccounting，andselfLresponsibilityfbrprofitsand losses・Theseweregiven，however，ｔｏｔｈｅ“owners,,oftheenterprises，ｔｈａｔｉｓ，the govemment・Furthennore,theheadsoftheenterprisesandfactoriesweretocontinue beingappointedanddismissedbythegovernmentandresponsibleministries(Article 42)．Whatthisshowsisthatthegovernmentcontinuestointerveneinandregulate

manyareaa

Bywayofexample,ｗｈｅｎｉｔｃｏｍｅｓｔｏｔｈｅｑｕｅｓｔｉｏｎｏｆｈｏｗｗagesandbonusesare tobedecided,enterprisesareallowedtomakedecisionsontheirownwithinanover‐

allwagefimdcommensuratewiththoseenterprises（Articlel9)，ｂｕｔconsiderably strictrestrictionsareinmctbeingplacedonwagehikes、Thetotalwagefimdsof enterprisesaredecidedoninaccordancewithafbrmulaoflinkagewitheconomic eH1ciencyasdeterminedbythegovernｍｅｎｔ（ArticIel9)．Thegrowthoftotalwages shouldbeheldbeneaththegrowthinlaborproductivity、Thebasefigurefbrthe totalwagesisexaminedbytherelatedauthorities・Deficit-runnmgenterprisesin

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particulararesupposedtobesubjecttomonitoring（Article24)．

Thus,whilethegovemmentismaintainingastanceofguidingenterprisesina directionincreasingtheirindependenceasrationalorganizationsthroughrecognition ofselFmanagementrightsofenterprisesandlightingoftheirburdens,itiscontinuing tosuperviseandinterveneinmanagementasｓｅｅｎｂｙｉｔｓｐｌａｃｉｎｇｏｆａｃｅｉｌｉｎｇｏｎｗａge

increases・ThestanceoftheArticlesandthecurrentadministrationtowardrefbrms

ofthestate-ownedenterprisesisobviouslyquitecontradictory・

Theenterpriseside,ｏｎｔｈｅｏｔｈｅｒｈａｎｄ,appearswaryofcontinuedoraugmented interventionbytheStateinoperations・Ｆｏｒexample,theCorporationLawpromul- gatedonDecember29,l993promotedtheintroductionofajoint-stocksystem,but thegiantenterprises,ｉｎparticular,mostlyselectthemanagement-contractingsystem、

AnofYicialatoneenterprisegaveasthereasonlbrthisnegativeattitudetowardthe joint-stocksystemasfbllows;ifanenterprisedecidestointroducethejoint-stock systemasthingsnowstand,ｔｈｅＳｔａｔｅｍｉｇｈｔｓｉｍｐｌｙｂｕｙｌａｒｇｅａｍｏuntsofthestock andstillinterveneinmanagement・

AnotherimportantpointtoobserveisthatthewaythedifYbrentministriesofthe centralgovemmentandthedifYerentlocalgovemmentstreatenterprisesintheappli-

cationoftheprovisionsoftheArticIesisnotunifbrm，

Ｆｏｒexample,ｉｎthecaseofJilmandHebeiprovinces,thelocalgovemmentsare abletoappointpartysecretariestobeconcurrentlytheheadsoffactories（Guowu

yuanfazhiju［DepartmentofPolicyandLegislation,etc],shangce［Partl］1993, ｐｌｌｌ＆p42),whileinHeilongjiangProvince,apersonmayholdtheconculTentpost

offklctorymanagerandpartysecretaryfbrenterprisesotherthanespeciallylargeones

(Ｇｕｏｗｕｙｕａｎｆａｚｈｉｊｕ,shangce,ｐ､88)．Meanwhile,theroleoflocalgovemment

isstillportrayedasrCducingblindnessintheproductionofgoodswithmarketcom‐

petition（Guowuyuanftlzhiju,shangce,ｐ､61）andtheyareheldresponsiblefbr

breakingdownthedivisionsbetweenregionsandsectors，itbeingemphasizedthat theymustnotconstructbarriersunsuitabletotheestablishmentofaunifiednational marketandmustnotrestricttｈｅｓａｌｅｓａｎｄｐｕ1℃hasingofanyunitorsectortoanother

regionorSector（Guowuyuanfazhiju,shangce,ｐ､62,ａｎｄｐﾕ94)．

Inacertainsense，theArticlestakeintoconsiderationthevestedinterestsof

partyandgovernmentofYYcials・Olutheotherhand,theyportrayitasnecessaryfbr thepartyandthegovernmenttointerveneandembarkonreorganizationsoasto

realizethegoalofhavingthelocalgovernmentsstopthewasteofresourcescausedby the``lowlevelofcompetition,，andimprovethecompetitivenessofenterpriseswhile

themarketeconomyisstillundeveloped

Butthereisstillthedirectdangerthat,duetothevaguenessofrightsoverassets，

hestate-ownedenterpriseswillendupweakinthemanagementofassetsandassets

willbearbitrarilydisposedofbyrelatedparties、Ｏｎｔｏｐｏｆｔｈｉｓ，whilethereare diffbrenthistoricａｌｆｎｃｔｏｒｓａｔｗｏｒｋｉｎｅａｃｈｒｅｇｉｏｎ，thelocalgovernmentsconsider themselvestobethemastersofeverythingundertheirpurveyanddeemaUstate-

ownedenterprisesintheirregionstobeundertheirprotection（ＤihmgzhengfUzai gaigehefazhanzhongdejingjijinenghexingyiketizu［Researchgrouponthe

economicroleandconductoflocalgovernmentintheprocessofeconomicrefbrm

anddevelopment]，1991,ｐ49)．Thishasbeenoneofthekeyissuesbehindtheeco‐

nomicgrowthtodate，

Seeninthisholisticway，inrefbrmingthestate-ownedenterprises，inChina,ｓ

７

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TransitionfiPomSmallSocietyloMarkctEconomyUIDit

caseitwouldbeoverlysimplistictoconcludethattiesshouldbecutwiththecentral andlocalgovemments・Rather,itwouldbewisertoclarifythepositiverolesofthe government，Ofcourse，thereisconsiderable，complexinteractionamonggovem- ments,includingtheissuesofestablishingtherulesfbrcoordinationofinterestsofthe centralandlocalgovemments,ａｎｄｉｔｃａｎｂｅａｎｔｉｃｉｐａｔｅｄｔｈａｔｉｔｗｉｌｌｎｏｔｂｅｅａｓｙｔｏｒｅａｃｈａｎｙｓｏｒｔｏｆｃｏｎｓensus．

ChangefromGSmallsociety，toenterprises

Intheoldsocialistsociety,aseveryoneknows,theenterpriseororganizationto whichanindividualbelongedguaranteedallaspectsofone,slifbfromcradletograve and,further,ｔｏone,schildrenandgrandchildren・

State-ownedenterprises,universities,ａｎｄotherorganizationsoperatedtheirown non-productionftlcilitiessuchasprimaryandsecondaryschools,clinics,dminghalls，

anddolmitoriesandtherefbreservedasall-inclusivecooperativehabitats．“The enterpriseshoulderstheburdenofsociety”wasanaptexpressionOfcourse,notall thepeopleenjoyedthesamelevelofservices、TherewasadifYerenceinthelevelof servicesbetweentheurbanandruralareas,ｏｆcourse,and,evenamongorganizations belongingtothecentralgovernment,difYbrencesdependingonthepoweroftheindi‐

vidualorganizations・

Inadditiontothesenon-productionfacilities,enterprisesandorganizationshar‐

boredlargenumbersofsurplusworkersintheirproductiondivisionsandbusiness divisions、ThisremainsalbatureoftheChineseeconomytoday・Thestateofsurplus employment，stressingsharingofwork，ｉ､e・having“fivepeopledothreepersons，

work',ｃａｎｂｅｔｒａｃｅｄｂａcktotheartiHcialpoliciesenfbrcedtoholddownwagesand achievehighemploymentintheyearsjustafterthefbundingofthePeople,sRepublic Thenumberofemployeesinstate-ownedenterprisesinl949，whenthePRCwas established,ｗａｓ８．０９millionByl952,ｔｈｉｓｈａｄｒｅａｃｈｅｄｌ６・O3million-i.e､,it。oubled injustfburyears（GuOjiatongjijuLStateStatisticalBureau］eds.，1984?,ｐ､152)．

Later,too,inhiringworkers,thepolicywasconsistentlyfbllowedofgivingpriority tothecreationofjobs,soasnottoallowunemployment,ratherthantotherational deploymentofpersonneLThislong-termsurplusemploymentpracticewasmade possiblebythelaxbudgetaryrestrictionsplacedonstate-ownedenterprises，ｉ､e､，the factthateveniftheyrandeficits,ｔｈｅｙｗｏｕｌｄｂｅｓａｖｅｄｉｎｔｈｅｅｎｄｂｙＨｓｃａloutlaysby

theState・

ＩｎｓｏｆａｒａｓＣｈｉｎａｉｓｎｏｗａｉｍｉｎｇａｔｃｈａngingovertoamarketeconomicsystem，

enterpriseshavetorestructuretogirdthemselveslbrhardbudgetaryrestraints，ｉｅ.，

thepursuitofthemaximumpront・Ｔｈｅmainmeanscurrentlybeingtriedoutby enterprisesandorganizationsinthisrestructuringareachangeh･omproduction contractstojoint-stocksystemsinthelargeandmedium-sizedenterprises,cutbacks inpersonnel,areevaluationofthepreviousemploymentsystem（speciHcally，ａｃｈａｎｇｅｆｉ･omguaranteeingpermanentli化timeemploymentwhenhiringnewwork fbrcetocontractingworkersfbrspeciHedperiodsハandthepassingonoftheexpenses

fbrsocialwelfaretothebeneflciaries・

Aspartoftherefbrmofenterprises,themanagementcontractsystemintroduced inl984enableslargeandmedium-sizedstate-ownedenterprisestoconcludea

８

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contractwiththeStateinwhichtheypromisedtotumovertoitacertainpercentage oftheirprofitsinretumtheenterprisesareallowedtoretainprofitinexcessofthe stipulatedamountfbruseinbothinvestmentandbonusesfbrworkers，Theaimwas tocreateincentiveinenterpriseoperations、

Ａｓｓｅenintheprevioussection,however,sincetheownershipoftheassetsofthe enterpriseremainedvague,responsibilityalsowasunclear，Manyenterprisesended uprunningdeficits,ｄｕｅｉｎｐａｒｔｔｏｔｈｅｃｈａｎｇｅｓｉｎｔｈｅａｃｃountingsysteminthepast oneortwoyears・Ｏｎｅｏｆｔｈｅｒｅａｓｏｎｓｆｂｒｔｈｉｓｈａｓｂｅｅｎｔhｅｓｔrongtendencyfbrenter- prisestousetheirproHtsfbrnon-productiveexpendituressuchasincreasingem‐

ployeewagesandextendingbonusesratherthancapitalinvestment、Ｔｈａｔｉｓ，since therightsoverassetswerecloudyandnooutsidepartywascheckmgintothedetails ofoperations,peopleincreasmglyputtheassetsoftheenterprisestopersonaluseand managementtendedtobecomeloose・

ＩｎｔｈｅｆＨｃｅｏｆｔｈｉｓｐｒｏｂｌｅｍ，Chinesescholarsarenowmostlycomingoutin supportoftheintroductionofthejoint-stocksystem,motherwordsachangetoa systemenablingoutsidechecksonmanagement・Ｉｎｓｕchasystem，therelationship betweenstockholdersandmanagerswouldbebasedonpropercorporateorganiza‐

tion,withrightsofownershipoverassetsrestingwiththeenterprises・Thecentral government,ｏｎｔｈｅｏｔｈｅｒｈａｎｄ,isapplyingpressureonenterprisemanagerstomake improvementsusingbankruptcyasathreat,asseenbyitspublicizationoftheprocess ofclosureofwhatmaybecalledChina,ｓ“bankruptcymodel,”theChongqingKnit- tingFactory（ＸｉｅＤｅＬｕ,1994)．

Alongwiththeproblemoftypeofmanagement,anotheroftherefbrmsofstate‐

ownedenterpriseswhichisofutmostimportanceandrequiresurgentresolution,but ismostdifHculttotackle，istheissueofpersonnelcutbacks・Whenourresearch groupvisitedtheButtonElectronicCompanyintheｓｕｍｍｅｒｏｆ1993,thosewhowere relatedtomanagementcommonlypointedoutthedifTicultiesofthisproblem・The previouslycitedsurveyofl,Z70state-ownedindustrialenterprisesbytheState- StatisticalBureaualsofbundthemostseriousmanagementproblemtobeexcess employmenLTroubleoverdismissalsofworkersisconstant・Eventhedomestic

Chinesemassmediareportcasesofworkerswithpoorworkattitudesattacking

enterprisepresidentswhohavedaredtofIretｈｅｍ

Ｔｈｅｍｏｓｔｆｉ･equentlyusedmethodsofcuttingbackpersonnelareconverting non-productiveandservicedivisionsintoindependententerprises,encouragingjob‐

hoppingtootherwork,andstartingupnewtertiaryindustriestocreatejobopportu‐

nitiesthereAsdemonstratedbythereplacementofBeijing，sshortageoftaxisbya surfbitinashortperiod,ｔｈｅｒｅａｒｅｌｉｍｉｔｓｔｏｈｏｗｍａｎｙｐｅｏｐｌｅｔheservicesectorcan absorb・Furthermore，continuedrestructuringisessentialinthemaindivisionsas welLWhatisneeded，withoutexaggeration，isnothinglessthanafimdamental cｈａｎｇｅｉｎｔｈｅｆｔｌｃｅｏｆｅｎｔｅｒｐｒｉｓｅｓｔｈｅｍｓｅｌｖｅｓａｎｄａｒｅｖｉｓｉｏｎｉｎｔｈｅｗａｙＣｈinesesociety

isstructured・

Inrelationtothis,thenumberofcontractworkershasbeenrisingeveryyear,ｉｎｐａｒｔｄｕｅｔｏｐｒｏｍｏｔｉｏｎｂｙｌｏｃａｌｇｏｖernments・Theshareofcontractworkersinthe totalnumberofemployedisrisingaswelLForexample,instate-ownedenterprises inthemanufacturingsector,therewereL55millioncontractworｋｅｒｓｉｎｆｌＳｃａｌｌ９８５ｆｂｒｏｎｌｙ５・Zpercentofallworkersinthesector・Byfiscall995,therewere21million contractworkers,accountingfbr63､１percentoftheworkersinthesector・Ｔｈｅｓａｍｅ

，

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TransitionlromSmalISocietytoMarkcIEconomyUnil

trendcanbeseeninothersectors（Guqiiatongjiju,1996,ｐ､108)．Thestandardsof remunerationfbrcontractworkersandthesituationwhenrenewingcontractsdifYbr dependingontheenterprise,butitisnotrarefbrcompaniesnottorenewtheemploy- mentcontractsfbrworkerswithpoorworkattitudes・Thecentralgovernmentis

apparentlydedicatedtoabolishinｇpermanentemploymentinthefUture、

Thesocialsecuritysystemisalsobeingrefbrmedatthelocalenterprise，and

organizationallevels、Thepointoftherefbrmsis,ｏｆcourse，tohavetheindividual

beneficiariesbeartheexpenseoftheirbeneHts、PeopleingovernmentorganizationｓｗｈｉｃｈｄｏｎｏｔｈavetheirownHscalresourcessaythathealthcarecostswillgradually

bemadepayablebytherecipientandretirementpensionswillbecut・Inparticular，

inrelationtorefbrmsofstate-ownedenterprises，ithasrecentlybeenfiPequently

stressedthatitisnecessarytoreducｅｔｈｅｓｏｃｉａｌｂｕｒｄｅｎｏｆｅnterprisesinorderto createconditionsfbrftlirparticipationinmarketcompetition・Andinfact,insofaras enterpriseareprofIt-orientedorganizations，ｉｔｉｓｃｌｅａｒｔｈａｔｔｈｅｒｅａｒｅｌｉｍｉｔｓｔｏｈow muchoftheheavyburdenofthevarioussocialservicestheycancontinuetoshoulder・

Ofcourse,ｅｖｅｎinthepast,enterpriseswerenotdisbursingunlimitedfimdsfbr socialservicesbutweresupportedbyvarioussocialelements・Animportantrolehas alwaysbeenplayedbymutual-assistancenetworksofregionalandhumancontacts,as shownbythesayingrelatedtothewriterbyafriendthat``Ｗｈｅｎｓｏmethingcomesup，

helpcomesinfiPomallquarters.,，Butmostofthemorehighlyeducatedreportedly fleelthissocialcustoｍｔｏｂｅａｂｕｒｄｅｎｏｎｔｈｅｍ・Inruralareas,howeversuchblood andregionaltiesremainverystrongeventodayasfactorshelpingtosupportsociety・

ＴｈｅＣＣＰｔｅｎｄｓｔｏａｌｓｏｅｖａｌｕａｔｅｔｈｉspositively・Inthedecisionofthethirdplenum ofthel4thCentralCommittee,ｉｔｗａｓｓｔａｔｅｄｔｈａｔ“careoftheelderlyinruralareas istobemainlyguaranteedbytheirflmilies,withassistancefiPomthelocalcommuni‐

ties.，,WhenthisauthorvisitedarichruralareainthesuburbsofShanghai,reputedly oneofthetopsinChina,justafterLunarNewYear(Febl995),hefbundtheslogan writteninlargelettersonpaperplasteredonthewalls“Let，ｓＫｅｅｐＵｐｔｈｅＳｐｉｒｉｔｏｆＲｅｓｐｅｃｔｆｂｒｔｈeAgedTraditionaltotheChinesePeople.,’

Whereverthecase,theChinesearereachingaconsensuｓｔｈａｔｗｈｉｌｅｔｈｅｒｅａｒｅｌｉｍｉｔｓｔｏｈｏｗmuchthebenefYciariescanbear,thelevelofsocialservicescannotbe farfromthelevelofnationalincomeandthat,accordingly,fbrthetimebeing,itwill beimpossibletoprovideahiｇｈｌｅｖｅｌｏｆｓｅｒｖｉｃｅｓｏｒｔｏｇｏａｆｔｅｒｇｒeatercostsharing，

andthatonlyacertainextentofgovernmentassistancecanbeexpectedaswelL SelfLhelpistherefbrbecomingmoreimportant・Ｉｔｉｓｆｂｒｔｈｉｓｒｅａｓｏｎ，too，thatthe govemmenthasallowedfbreigninsurancecompaniestooperateinChina．

ｌｓｓｕｅｓｉｎＣｌｎｉＴｕｅｓｅＭｏｄｅｌＭａｒｋｅｔＥｃｏｎｏｍｉｃｓ

InmodernChina,marketfimctionsarebeingreassessedandanemphasisisbeing placedontheprincipleoftryingtorebuildEnancesandrevitalizetheeconomy throughsmallergovemmentandselfLhelpefTbrts-somethingreminiscentoftheideas ofneo-conservativesintheindustrializedcountriesｍｔｈｅｌ９８０ｓ・Thechangesinthe organizationandsystemsofenterpnsesaccompanyingtheshifttoamarketeconomy willinevitablychangethenatureofChinesesociety,asocietyinwhichhumanrela‐

tionsandsocialtieshaveplayedmajorrolesinthepast．

1０

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ＡｎｄａｎｙｏｎｅｗｉｌｌｎｏｔｄｅｎｙｔｈａｔｔｈｅｒｅｆｂｒｍｏｆｅｃｏｎｏｍｉｃｓｙｓｔｅｍｉｎＣｈｍａｈａｓ

ｒｅachedthepointofno-retum・Ｉｔｍａｙｂｅｓａｉｄｔｈａｔｏｎｌｙｔｈｅｍａｒｋｅｔmechanismcan tosolvemountainsofproblems・ButcontrarytotheexpectationofafewChinese economists,theexperiencesofdevelopedcountriesshowthemarketmechanismis neveralmighty

lwilltakeagaintheproblemofemployment、Inthejobenvironment,whereit isbelievedthatabout30percentoftheworkersatstate-ownedenterprisesaresuper- fluous,insoftlrasthemarketmechanismisadopted,continuingrestructuringwillbe unavoidable・Ｓｍｃｅｌ９７８，ｈｏｗever，statisticsshowaboutl5millionlaborersand peasantshavebeenaddedtothelaborpool（newlaborersandpeasantsminusthose whoretired),ofwhichonlyL500,OOOhavebeenemployedinstate-ownedenterprises everyyear・ThisfactsimplyexplainshowdifTiculttorealizeworkfbrcereductio、is．

Ａsfbrtherefbrmsoftheenterprises,thesewillgobeyondmereorganizational conversionsandwillmeandismantlingofjointproductiongroupsandtherefbre socialrefbrms，Withtheeradicationofthesupremaｃｙｏｆｔｈｅ``group,,ｏｖｅｒthe“indi‐

vidual,，asboastedundersocialism,achangeisunderwayfiFomtheemphasisonequal- itywhichhasbeenproｍｏｔｅｄｕｐｔｏｎｏｗｔｏｔｈｅａｃｃｅｐｔａｎｃｅｏｆｄiHbrencesinincome andremuneration、WiUthegeneralpublicgoalongwiththis？Andhowcanthe inward-lookingregionalism,afactorinhibitingthefbrmationofaumfieddomestic

market,ｂｅｏｖｅｍｏｍｅ・

Whateverthecase,solutionstotheseproblemswouldbedifTicultbyjustleaving thingsuptomarketprinciples，Thecentralandlocalgovernmentscaｎｂｅｅxpectedto playtheirroles・

Leavingasidewhetherthisisgoodoｒｂａｄ，ｔｈｅｒｏｌｅｓｏｆｔｈｅｃｅｎｔｒａｌａｎｄｌｏｃａｌｇｏvernmentsshouldnotbedistancedfiPomthoseoftheenterprisesandprivatesector inthemarketeconomy、１s､,tthereaneedtoreconsideramorepositiverole？Ｔｈｅｒｅｗｏｕｌｄｓｅｅｍｔｏｂｅｒｏｏｍｆｂｒｃｏｎｓｉderationofthefbrmulationofrulesfbrfnircompe‐

titionandtheirstrictenfbrcement,ｏｆcourse,and,also,thepromotionofpoliciesfbr thepositiveprotectionandgrowthofHedglingbusinessorganizations・

Ithasbecomecommontodaytocriticizetheprotectionoffledglingindustriesin developingcountries,butthiscriticismappliestotheoverprotectionandintervention bygovernmentwhichendsupweakeningthestandingsofcompanies，Theneedfbr suitablepositiveinterventionisrecognizedeveninthereportoftheWorldBankon EastAsianEconomy・

Ofcourse,ｔｈｉｓａｓｓｕｍｅｓｔｈａｔｔｈｅgovernmenthasthetrustofthepeople．

＊Thisarticleisbasedontheauthor，stwoarticles;`Economicrefbrmsofstate‐

ownedenterprises,inTheInstituteofComparativeEconomicStudies,HoseiUniver- sity/T,Matsuzakied（1996)，inJapaneseandMarketeconomicsinChina-An overview,ｉｎ“ＪＥＴＲＯＣｈｉｎａＮｅｗｓｌｅｔｔｅｒ,,，Ｎｏ．１１８Sept､－０ct、１９９５．Heespecially thankstotheeditorｏｆ“JETROChinaNewsletter''whoadmittedhimtoreusepart

ofthatarticle．

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