At 10 percent of the current gross domestic product, the budget deficit is viewed by both local and foreign economists as too large.

But some foreign economists worry that the leadership could make life much more difficult for private enterprises.

"There has been a big demand for dollars in recent days," one foreign economist said this afternoon.

But few foreign economists expect it to work for long.

"Things don't look too promising at the moment," one foreign economist here said today.

Other estimates by foreign and local economists range as high as 40 percent.

Several foreign economists said they expected the new plan to bring a rise in efficiency over the black market, which is time-consuming and fuels inflation.

Mexican and foreign economists agree that the last three months have been an excellent time to trade pesos for dollars.

Thus many Chinese are quite pessimistic, while some foreign economists are relatively optimistic.

"Any concessions on this point could jeopardize his overall program," said one foreign economist here.