Formation and Announcement ot the Reform and Opening Policy (1978–1979)

Abstract

In October 1978 the People’s Republic of China entered its 30th year of existence. As is clear from the preceding brief historical review, these 30 years abounded in both successes and failures. Although in these three decades Chinese society made significant progress in modernization, civilization, and economic and cultural development, the political leadership was by no means able to rest on its laurels, whether their achievements were compared with the socioeconomic development of other East-Asian and Southeast-Asian countries in the vicinity or with China’s own potential development possibilities. It was no mere coincidence that some of the Chinese leaders had even earlier spoken about a “lost decade” and estimated that China’s lag in technology behind the pioneering countries was about 50 years, adding that the abyss separating China from them had not narrowed in the decade from 1967 to 1976, but rather deepened and widened.¹