Chinese History Codexery

Reform and opening up

Economic reforms that transformed China's economy after 1978.

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Reform and opening up refers to economic reforms in China that began in the late 20th century after Mao Zedong's death in 1976.[1] Guided by Deng Xiaoping, the reforms were launched by the Chinese Communist Party on December 18, 1978 at the third plenary session of the 11th CCP Central Committee.[2] Between 1978 and 2018, the number of people in China living in extreme poverty fell by 800 million, and the country's status shifted from among the world's poorest to upper-middle income.[3]

Last updated 2026-10-07 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Field
Economic reforms
Nationality
Chinese

Facts from the source article.

What the cited sources add

A South China Morning Post article notes that Deng Xiaoping's push for reform launched China's rise from the Cultural Revolution to the world's second-biggest economy.[7] The same article states that the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown almost killed the reform program, but Deng's 1992 southern tour revived it.[7] Scissors writes that price liberalization, the core of market reform, has been partly undone by the central government.[8] The Guardian reported in 2010 that China overtook Japan as the world's second-largest economy in the second quarter of that year.[9]

The Shekou Industrial Zone, established on January 31, 1979, was China's first experimental area for opening up, as reported by a South China Morning Post article.[10][11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Reform and opening up" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ray, "The Chinese Economic Miracle: Lessons to Be Learnt", Economic and Political Weekly, 2002, p. 3835–3848; Harrison, "China anniversary: How the country became the world's 'economic miracle'", BBC News, 30 September 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Reform and opening up" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The inside story of the propaganda fightback for Deng's reforms", South China Morning Post, 2018-11-14 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Reform and opening up" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ray, "The Chinese Economic Miracle: Lessons to Be Learnt", Economic and Political Weekly, 2002, p. 3835–3848; Harrison, "China anniversary: How the country became the world's 'economic miracle'", BBC News, 30 September 2019; Lin, "The China Miracle: Development Strategy and Economic Reform", The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 2003; Nayar, "The Geopolitics of Globalization: The Consequences for Development", Oxford University Press, December 2007, p. 181–216 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Reform and opening up" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Reform and opening up" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Longworth, "Beef in China: Agribusiness Opportunities and Challenges", University of Queensland Press, 2001, p. 248 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Reform and opening up" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barboza, "China Passes Japan as Second-Largest Economy", The New York Times, 2010-08-15; "China overtakes Japan as world's second-largest economy", The Guardian, 2010-08-16; Bergsten, "The United States vs. China : the quest for global economic leadership", 2022, p. 86 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "The inside story of the propaganda fightback for Deng's reforms", South China Morning Post, 2018-11-14. facts only, no text reused. scmp.com
  8. Scissors, "Deng Undone: The Costs of Halting Market Reform in China", Foreign Affairs, May–June 2009. facts only, no text reused. foreignaffairs.com
  9. "China overtakes Japan as world's second-largest economy", The Guardian, 2010-08-16. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  10. "Unsung hero of China's opening up is star of Shenzhen museum", South China Morning Post, 2018-12-27. facts only, no text reused. scmp.com
  11. Wikipedia, "Reform and opening up" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Unsung hero of China's opening up is star of Shenzhen museum", South China Morning Post, 2018-12-27; "Shekou Industrial Zone — firsts in reform and opening-up", China Daily (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Reform and opening up (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Named in this entry

Shenzhen

Also in the Codexery

Reform and opening up · East Asian History

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Taiwan under Japanese ruleRepublic of China (1912–1949)Retreat of the government of the Republic of China to TaiwanTerritorial disputes in the South China SeaTibetan independence movementTongzhi RestorationTaiwan independence movementSino-French WarSino-Vietnamese WarSino-Indian WarShanghai massacreSino-Soviet split

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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