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Emancipation
“Reform and opening” started from the top with the seminal leadership transition from Mao to Deng. Deng Xiaoping heralded China’s boom in late 1978 when he called for experiments with “economic democracy” and “emancipation” from orthodox ideas. But the boom was not simply a top-down, state-orchestrated phenomenon. In fact, the biggest contribution of the state, especially in the first phase of growth, was to get out of the way. Farmers were liberated from collectives, sparking a wildfire of capitalism in the countryside. Urban markets and industry were freed to “grow out of the plan,” making profits on surplus production and creating powerful incentives for rapid growth. |
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Deng Understood That the World Had ChangedPeriod: Emancipation (1978-84)
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Click to expand I could read Marshall Chen Yi's emotions. "You guys come to China, you may invade China. The Soviets from the north, India from the west and America and Chiang Kai-shek from the south. We are ready. My hair is going grey. I am waiting for that moment." That kind of statement was indicative of the state of mind of the Chinese leadership. In 1978, in China, we had such an important meeting, the Third Plenum. We decided to focus on the economy, on the modernization. That was a big change, a strategic turning point. In a way, Deng Xiaoping understood that the world had changed.
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