Synopsis:
The development of the electric power industry in China and of its regulatory milieu follows in many respects the pattern established in the United States and in most of the rest of the world. But while the emergence of competition in lieu of direct regulatory intervention is ideologically in harmony with capitalism in the United States, it may be less consistent with Chinese "market" socialism. In addition, environmental requirements in China to be effective must be merged to the degree possible with economic regulation. It may be easier to impose environmental requirements in a system featuring direct regulatory intervention than in one relying primarily on market …