Communist Party in 1978. To a great extent, the issue of economic reform .
became politicized as the issue was used as a means by Deng Xiaoping to .
attain the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. Mao's successor, Hua .
Guofeng, had "tried to prove himself a worthy successor to Mao by draping .
himself in the mantle of Maoist tradition. His approach to economic .
development was orthodox Maoism with an up-to-date, international twist" .
(Shirk 35). This approach was tied heavily to the development of China's .
oil reserves. "[W]hen [in 1978] estimates of the oil reserves were revised .
downward[,] commitments to import plants and expand heavy industry could .
not be sustained" (Shirk 35). Deng took advantage of this economic crisis .
to discredit Hua and aim for leadership of the party. "Reform policies .
became Deng's platform against Hua for post-Mao leadership" (Shirk 36). .
Given this history of economic reform, it is evident that "under the .
present system economic questions are necessarily political questions" .
(Dorn 43). Once Deng and his faction had prevailed, it was necessary for .
some sort of economic reform to evolve. .
The initial form the new economy took was not a radical one. .
China was "still a state in which the central government retain[ed] the .
dominant power in economic resource allocation and responsible local .
officials work[ed] for the interest of the units under their control" .
(Solinger 103). However, as time passed, some basic aspects of the old .
system were altered either by design or via the process of what might be .
called benign neglect. As Shirk points out, in rural areas, .
decollectivization was occurring: "decision making power [was being .
transferred] from collective production units (communes, brigades, and .
teams) to the family" (38); purchase prices for major farm products were .
increased (39). In 1985, further reforms were introduced. For example, .
long-term sales contracts between farmers and the government were .
