To a significant extent, some basic development issues, including ensuring adequate food supplies and universal primary education, were already dealt with. The domestic market for consumption goods was also significandy larger than proved to be the case in India. The control retained by the Chinese state over financial institutions and the activities of state owned enterprises (SOEs) allowed it to sustain high levels of investment and to deal with volatility, to prevent undesired levels of inflation from persisting beyond relatively short periods. In the event, the state ensured that cyclical fluctuations occurred around a high overall trend rate of income growth.