Distribution bottleneck Under the old system of economic planning, the distribution of published works in the mainland was all handled through a single state-owned channel (known as the "first channel") -every region in the country had a Xinhua bookstore and supply unit. These Xinhua stores held sole control of delivery and distribution, a system entirely inappropriate for a free market.
分銷瓶頸在以往計劃經濟體質下，中國大陸的出版品流通都是透過單一的國有渠道（俗稱「一渠道」），全國各地設有新華書店與供銷社，主要功能在於圖書的配送與攤派，不過卻難以應付自由市場的實際需求。