THE BANKRUPTCY SYSTEM OF MAINLAND CHINA STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES

Beijing has set out two goals for its economic policy in the next fift een years. One is to transform mainland China's planned economic syste m into a market system; the other is to change the emphasis of economi c growth from quantity to quality. The achievement of the two goals hi nges on the success of the bankruptcy system. Nonetheless, the develop ment of the bankruptcy law since it was enacted in 1986 has proven to be a bumpy road. Confronted with flaws in the law, combined with vario us other obstacles, Beijing has been forced to slow the implementation of the bankruptcy system and resort to enterprise mergers. The strate gy for the enterprise reforms for the near future has been shifted to aiding major enterprises while revitalizing small ones through various methods other than bankruptcy.