← China Studies syllabus

SingaporeChina Studies

Economic Reform and Transformation

8 dot points across 8 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

Why did reform begin in the countryside, and how decisive was agricultural reform for China's transformation?

Explain the agricultural reforms of the early reform era and evaluate their significance for the wider transformation of China's economy
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on agricultural reform. Decollectivisation, the household responsibility system, the surge in rural output, and how farm reform launched the wider transformation.
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What was Deng Xiaoping's strategy for reforming China's economy, and why did it take the form it did?

Explain Deng Xiaoping's strategy of reform and opening up after 1978 and evaluate why China chose gradualism over shock therapy
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on Deng's reform strategy. Reform and opening up, gradualism and experimentation, dual-track pricing, and why China avoided Soviet-style shock therapy.
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How is China trying to rebalance its economy and move up the value chain, and how successful has it been?

Evaluate China's attempts to rebalance toward consumption and to move up the value chain through innovation
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on rebalancing and innovation. Shifting toward consumption and services, the middle-income trap, Made in China 2025, and how far the upgrade is succeeding.
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How did China reform its state-owned enterprises, and why has the state sector remained so large?

Analyse the reform of China's state-owned enterprises since 1978 and evaluate the persistence of a large state sector
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on SOE reform. The iron rice bowl, 'grasping the large and letting go the small', the 1990s restructuring, national champions, and why the state sector endures.
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How did the special economic zones and the coastal strategy open China to the world economy?

Explain the role of the special economic zones and coastal development in China's opening up and evaluate their wider effects
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on the SEZs. Shenzhen and the first zones, foreign investment and export processing, the coastal development strategy, and the regional imbalance it created.
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What drove China's high growth, and why did the model become unbalanced?

Analyse the investment- and export-led growth model and evaluate the imbalances and risks it produced
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on the growth model. High investment and exports, suppressed consumption, debt and over-capacity, the property bubble, and why the model reached its limits.
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What is the 'socialist market economy', and how distinctive is China's economic model?

Explain the concept of the socialist market economy and evaluate how distinctive China's model of state capitalism is
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on the socialist market economy. The 1992 to 1993 formula, the mix of market and state, the China model debate, and how distinctive Chinese state capitalism is.
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What did joining the World Trade Organization in 2001 mean for China's economy and its place in the world?

Evaluate the significance of China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001 for its economy and its integration into the world
A focused answer to the H2 China Studies dot point on WTO entry. The 2001 accession, the export boom, the discipline of reform, the trade-surplus backlash, and how integration reshaped China and the world.
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