Special economic zones in the People's Republic of China (1979-2001)

The main aim of this bachelor's thesis is to analyze the development of special economic zones in the People's Republic of China since the reform leadership took the power until the era when PRC entered the WTO. The author examines this issue in the broader context of the Open Door policy and the whole reform process, assesses the changing role of special economic zones in China's economy, their successes, but also failures. The emphasis is mainly placed on the evaluation of the development and structure of foreign direct investment, GDP and exports in special economic zones. The author concluded that the main benefits of special economic zones was their experimental feature and that there was a gradual reduction in the importance of special economic zones in Chinese economy in the examined period