In the 1980s, China used a dual-track price system (价格双轨制) for the transition from a planned to a market economy. The same good had a fixed price inside the state plan and a market price outside it. In May 1984, provisional State Council rules let enterprises price output beyond the plan within 20 percent of the state price. In January 1985, the limit was dropped.
In November 1989, the Party decided to turn “two tracks” into “one track.” The system had also given rise to guandao (官倒): officials or their relatives who used their power to buy scarce goods at the low price and sell them on the market.