Interpreting the Changing Retail Environment in Post-Reform China:
A Public Policy Perspective
Shuguang Wang
Department of Geography
Ryerson University
Abstract
This paper examines the changes that have taken place in China’s retail environment in the last 15 years. From a public policy perspective, the focus is on those policies that have been designed to, directly or indirectly, control the pace of entry of foreign retailers, and to leverage their influences, thus reducing negative externality. This paper is divided into two major parts. The first part highlights the policies and policy modifications, which were implemented before China’s admission to the WTO, mainly to control the entry of foreign retailers. The second part interprets the post-WTO policies, which were formulated more in line with international conventions. This study reveals that at the beginning of the transformation process, active policies (mostly unconventional interventions) were introduced to deal with anticipated or perceived problems. Gradually, China shifted to reactive policies in response to changes in the problems.
