Guest Editor's Introduction

The nine selections translated in this issue are all broadly concerned with China's foreign economic relations. The first part of the issue addresses the relationship between attracting foreign investment and protecting China's national industries; the last part of the issue deals with SinoâAmerican economic relations. There is also a small section in the middle that presents the "dangers" facing China's international finances, although even here the questions of foreign investment and U.S.âChina relations are discussed. It is important to note that all of these articles stem from restricted circulation publications and were not intended for a general audience. They were written primarily as reference material for policymakers. Indeed, while some of the selections derive from intellectuals in think tanks such as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), others were written by researchers within the relevant ministries themselves. Thus, taken as a whole, the materials presented are far more candid in discussing the outside worldâparticularly the United Statesâthan would be the case in the official and openly circulated press. Similarly, there is more candor in addressing the problems China faces and the costs and benefits of various solutions being considered.