SHORN of the euphemisms and circumlocutions, the thrust of Beijing's 15-year reform effort is to enshrine the Invisible Hand of Adam Smith. As the patriarch turned 89 in the summer and the succession struggle gets into high gear, however, it is the Invisible Hand of Deng Xiaoping - and dynastic politics - that seems to be guiding major political and economic decisions in the run-up to his departure.
China watchers were flabbergasted by statements by President Jiang Zemin and Vice-Premier Li Lanqing that were carried in the official media earlier this week.
On a de facto basis, Mr Jiang and Mr Li have proclaimed a moratorium on, if not an end to, the austerity and retrenchment programme, which was kicked off by Executive Vice-Premier Zhu Rongji a mere three months ago.
Both Mr Jiang and Mr Li - who also has a major economic portfolio - rekindled the goal of ''high-speed growth'', with which the patriarch has been obsessed since the mid-1980s.
The two leaders said Beijing's central objective remained ''sustained, high-speed, and healthy development.'' In a speech to the leaders of ten provinces last week, Mr Jiang repeated the rallying cry made by Mr Deng early this year: ''Seize the opportunities; speed up development; and concentrate forces to build up the economy''.
This is despite the well-known fact that it was Mr Deng's refusal to acknowledge the phenomenon of the overheated economy - and his residual ''Great Leap Forward'' mentality - that contributed to dislocations like hyperinflation and speculation in the stock and property markets.