Evaluation of the World Bank's Contribution to Chinese Enterprise Reform

Abstract

It is widely recognized in Chinese policy-making circles that the World Bank made a significant contribution to the country s enterprise reform in the 1980s. A major contribution consisted of bringing eminent international scholars and policy-makers to China, and in sending leading Chinese scholars and policy-makers abroad. The World Bank's financial support for these activities had a significant impact on the development of ideas on enterprise reform, especially at the highly influential Chinese Economic System Reform Research Institute (CESRRI), under the state council. The contribution of the World Bank was given more concrete form in the shape of joint research (from 1983 to 1985) on state enterprise reform, between the World Bank and leading Chinese institutions, under the umbrella of the Economics Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The World Bank has been involved in several industrial projects through its loan program. The main point of focus has been the fertilizer sector, but it has also been involved in projects in the machine tool, pharmaceuticals, and cement sectors. The World Bank has devoted increasing amounts of research resources in the China field to analyzing the role of private enterprise in the economy.