CHALLENGES TO THE MPTS MONOPOLY

The impressive progress of economic reform and development in the Peop le's Republic of China is raising many issues concerning the current p olicy and institutional framework of Chinese telecommunications. A pol itical coalition has been formed to challenge the current monopoly and to try to bring about a more competitive telecommunications policy. T here are also internal centrifugal forces which are making it difficul t for the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) to maintain i ts exclusive hold on the sector. The MPT's three major functions, of p olicy and regulation, service provision, and equipment production, are all being challenged by other players in telecommunications. This pap er analyses these trends and attempts to identify the forces driving t he liberalization process. It contrasts developments in China with the ories about the liberalization process derived from experience in othe r countries.