|
China Decision Making and Implementation
Understanding the intricate workings of a government can be
difficult, especially in a country such as China, where information
related to leadership and decision making is often kept secret.
Although it still was not possible to understand fully the
structure of Chinese foreign- policy-related governmental and
nongovernmental organizations or how they made or implemented
decisions, more was known about them by the late 1980s than at any
time previously.
After 1949 China's foreign relations became increasingly more
complex as China established formal diplomatic relations with more
nations, joined the United Nations (UN) and other international and
regional political and economic organizations, developed ties
between the Chinese Communist Party and foreign parties, and
expanded trade and other economic relations with the rest of the
world. These changes had affected foreign relations in significant
ways by the late 1980s. The economic component of China's
international relations increased dramatically from the late 1970s
to the late 1980s; more ministries and organizations were involved
in foreign relations than ever before; and the Chinese foreign
policy community was more experienced and better informed about the
outside world than it had been previously.
Despite the growing complexity of Chinese foreign relations,
one fundamental aspect of foreign policy that has remained
relatively constant since 1949 is that the decision-making power
for the most important decisions has been concentrated in the hands
of a few key individuals at the top of the leadership hierarchy. In
the past, ultimate foreign policy authority rested with such
figures as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, while in the 1980s major
decisions were understood to have depended on Deng Xiaoping. By the
late 1980s, Deng had initiated steps to institutionalize decision
making and make it less dependent on personal authority, but this
transition was not yet complete.
In examining the workings of a nation's foreign policy, at
least three dimensions can be discerned: the structure of the
organizations involved, the nature of the decision-making process,
and the ways in which policy is implemented. These three dimensions
are interrelated, and the processes of formulating and carrying out
policy are often more complex than the structure of organizations
would indicate.
Data as of July 1987
|
