China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been hailed as the biggest coming-out party in the history of capitalism. Its membership eventually will contribute to higher standards of living for its citizens and increased growth for its economy. But why would the Chinese communist...

The author points out that China's foreign trade has made stunning advances since economic reform began in the late 1970s. He explains the country's export growth and notes that initially trade expansion was heavily state directed; however, from the mid-1980s onward this was gradually displaced by...