China and Market Socialism: A New Socioeconomic Formation

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the sustained growth of the state sector in the Chinese economy shows that Chinese model is very different from state capitalism, even more from liberal capitalism. In our view, China’s market socialist system can be interpreted as classified as a “New Socioeconomic Formation” (NSEF). The most important attribute of the NSEF is complexity, as it is marked by the coexistence of different modes of production. China’s market socialism is still in its embryonic stage, and is governed by an ever-evolving combination of different modes and relations of production. In this framework, some basic laws of motion of China’s socialist market economy can be identified.