A Critical Juncture That Changed China

December 1978, along with the opening of the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee in China, the clique of Xiaoping Deng gradually took control of the Chinese government. This was a critical juncture in modern Chinese history, because Deng, unlike his predecessor, was a supporter for economic liberty. Believing that a market economy could help to improve the living standards in China, Deng carried out a series of new policies including reforms in the countryside (let the peasants participate in market economy) and reforms in the costal areas like Shenzhen and Zhuhai (encourage international trades and investments).

Deng's policy helped to create an inclusive economic structure in China, which, although still maintained an exclusive political institution, is able to achieve economic growths thanks to that. In fact, it has the fastest growing economy in the world and is able to double its GDP every ten years.