Development of the Reform and Opening Policy in the Period of Readjustment (1979–1982)

Abstract

At the outset it was envisaged that the implementation of the economic policy objectives formulated in terms of the “four-word directive” would require 3 years or somewhat longer. Thus it was clear at the start that the implementation of the tasks of “readjustment, reformation, consolidation, and improvement” would reach well into the sixth 5-year plan period covering the years 1981–1985. Since the points of emphasis of the new economic policy guideline were — particularly in the initial phase — mainly “adjustment” and partly “consolidation,” the tasks of “reformation” could generally be addressed in this phase in only partial and experimental frameworks. The only exceptions were agriculture and the rural economy in general; in certain provinces such reform processes — partly spontaneous and partly directed — were started as early as 1978. Later, under the impact of measures taken in the meantime and of party resolutions, the latter reform processes evolved at a fast rate and spread all over the country.