Special economic zones in the People’s Republic of China: the initial stages

Abstract

The article is focused on initial stages of the formation of special economic zones in the People’s Republic of China in the 1980s – 1990s. The author makes emphasis on the fact that the creation of such zones was originally a temporary experiment of the government of the country, which turned out to be successful and later became a model of modern special economic zones with a specific tax regime and customs regime throughout the world. The creation of such zones necessitated the inclusion of China into the system of international economic relations. The main goal of creating special economic zones was attracting foreign investment, mastering modern technologies and management systems, increasing foreign exchange earnings, creating new jobs, working out individual mechanisms for introducing economic reforms, etc. The classification is given and the peculiarities of special economic zones created in the PRC are revealed. It was highlighted that the effectiveness of the functioning of special economic zones in the PRC is a consequence of giving local authorities 22 the opportunity to choose the status of a zone and set up its governing bodies. In addition, the peculiarities of bonded areas as a specific type of special economic zones of the PRC, as well as respective customs rules have been considered in detail. The author summarizes that the practice of creating and successful operating special economic zones in China became an example for many states of the modern world. At the same time, giving high marks to this economic miracle, it is also necessary to take into account the powerful potential of each person involved in the work of such entities, the consistent political will of the country’s leadership, which, combined, made it possible to bring modern China into the leaders of the modern world and created all the prerequisites for building a prosperous future for its citizens.