The similarities and differences between the transition experiences of the Central European countries and the People's Republic of China are often, wrongly, taken as alternative approaches to the same problem. In reality, there is great complexity, not only in the environments of these two great regions -- for China is as big as a region by itself -- but also within them and, therefore, great complexity in the transition process itself.

The chapters in this volume, originally produced as papers for a joint OECD Development Centre/CEPR/CEPII Conference in Budapest, examine and contrast the experience of the different jurisdictions within which transition is underway. The authors concentrate on three, broad areas of commonality: public finance; foreign trade regime; and financial intermediation and a critical chapter synthesizes their findings at the end of each part. Differences do, of course, emerge, but so do similarities, leading to general policy conclusions applicable to all transition societies.