Socioeconomic and Locational Changes of the Township Economy in Dongcheng District, Beijing City, China

Abstract

This paper aims to make clear changes in the relation between the township enterprises and the town, examining the economic and social role of the township enterprises in the town, in the case of Dongcheng District in Beijing City. The result can be summarized as follows:
1. From planned economy to the initial stage of Reform and Opening, the township enterprises was united with local administration, and contributed greatly to town's economy and society through public finance, employment, and residents' service. However, economic system reform and change of locational environment for the township enterprises have reduced gradually their role in employment, administrative expenses and so forth.
2. And the Local management organization reform “Separation of politics and economy” carried out from 1999 has separated local administration from the township enterprises, and their relation has disappeared in the eye of the law. The arrangement integration by the Collection object economy management centerof Dongcheng District, new management organization, and reform of Possession system tended to convert township enterprises to private companies, and resulted in disappearance of the relation between the enterprises and the town.
3. However, some companies completely sever relations with the local society, namely the town and others maintain them in some way. The former are usually classified into manufacturing industry, the latter into commerce or service industry. Such situation is influenced by the locational environment in Dongcheng District and the “tertiary industry-oriented” policy of Beijing City based on it and by the industrial feature that commerce and service industry have close combination with residents' life.