In pursuing socialist economic development, China's leaders have attempted to follow a path different from that followed in the Soviet Union. The Chinese “model” has stressed value change above rapid industrialization, decentralization above centralization, and balanced growth above urban dominance. The question of the degree to which this model has become institutionalized in Chinese society, however, and the extent to which it will survive during the next decade, is problematic. In retrospect the Chinese model has apparently been rather limited in its actual application, while current developments appear to signal a movement in the direction of the Soviet model.