Reflections on the Developing Civil Service System in China

Abstract

In the 1980s. China began to implement a civil service system to establish a market-oriented economy and foster reform of the politico-administrative system. This modem civil service system was designed to replace the traditional ca personnel system, which, strictired around a centrally planned economy, originated during the period of China's revolutionary struggles. Focusing on this historical transition, this this article explores the relations that persist between the two systems and asks how and why the modem civil service system came into being at this time.