World Notes China

Wearing a gray Mao jacket, Premier Zhao Ziyang delivered the keynote address last week at the opening session in Peking of the National People's Congress, China's nominal parliament. His theme was "socialist economic construction," a euphemism for the wide-ranging reforms instituted by Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping that have decentralized economic planning and decision making. Zhao spoke of "gratifying major successes" over the past year in industry, housing and agriculture. Then, in a surprising admission before the 2,712 delegates, he acknowledged that there were problems.

The Premier complained of rises in prices, wages and credit and decried "selfish departmentalism," meaning corruption and profiteering by local officials and managers, who have greater powers today than in the old days of Soviet-style central planning. Citing Deng's recent exhortation for "lofty ideals and moral integrity," Zhao announced a decision to reimpose some bureaucratic controls aimed at increasing government oversight of financial operations. The move was seen as an attempt to consolidate the reform program, rather than retreat from it.