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Grasping the large, letting go of the small

The "grasping the large and letting the small go" (Chinese: 抓大放小; pinyin: Zhuā dà fàng xiǎo) is a Chinese Communist Party slogan to describe a wave of industrial reforms implemented by the government of the People's Republic of China in 1996. These reforms included efforts to corporatize state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and to downsize the state sector.

Concept

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The slogan and strategy were popularized by General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Jiang Zemin and Chinese premier Zhu Rongji in 1997.[1]: 215  The "grasping the large and letting the small go" policy was adopted in September 1997 at the 15th CCP Congress.[2]: 34  The "grasping the large" component indicated that policy-makers should focus on maintaining state control over the largest state-owned enterprises (which tended to be controlled by the central government).[1]: 215–216 

Through "grasping the large", the state focused on developing a core group of large SOEs in strategically important fields deemed as part of the commanding heights of the economy.[3]: 53 

"Letting the small go" meant that the central government should relinquish control over smaller and unprofitable SOEs.[4] Relinquishing control over these enterprises took a variety of forms: giving local governments authority to restructure the firms, privatizing them, or shutting them down.[5] Many small or medium-sized SOEs were allowed to go bankrupt.[3]: 53 

Following this policy, one thousand large SOEs received government subsidies and support with the goal of making them into national champions.[2]: 35  Among the prominent examples is Baowu Steel Group, which was formed through the merger of several smaller steel enterprises.[2]: 35 

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Roach, Stephen S. (2022). Accidental Conflict: America, China, and the Clash of False Narratives. New Haven: Yale University Press. doi:10.12987/9780300269017. ISBN 978-0-300-26901-7. JSTOR j.ctv2z0vv2v. OCLC 1347023475.
  2. ^ a b c Borst, Nicholas (2025). The Bird and the Cage: China's Economic Contradictions. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-981-96-3996-0.
  3. ^ a b Leutert, Wendy (2024). China's State-Owned Enterprises: Leadership, Reform, and Internationalization. Business and Public Policy Series. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-48654-5.
  4. ^ Li, David Daokui (2024). China's World View: Demystifying China to Prevent Global Conflict. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 116. ISBN 978-0393292398.
  5. ^ Barry Naughton, The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007), 301-302.

Further reading

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