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China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
from the
death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
of
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (P ...
in 1976 until the Tianamen Square protests in 1989 is often known as Dengist China. In September 1976, after
Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (P ...
's death, the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones an ...
was left with no central authority figure, either symbolically or administratively. The
Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...
was dismantled, but new Chairman
Hua Guofeng Hua Guofeng (; born Su Zhu; 16 February 1921 – 20 August 2008), alternatively spelled as Hua Kuo-feng, was a Chinese politician who served as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and Premier of the People's Republic of China. The desig ...
continued to persist on Mao-era policies. After a bloodless power struggle,
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...
came to the helm to reform the Chinese economy and government institutions in their entirety. Deng, however, was conservative with regard to wide-ranging political reform, and along with the combination of unforeseen problems that resulted from the economic reform policies, the country underwent another political crisis, culminating in the crackdown of massive pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.


Power struggles after Mao's death


Hua Guofeng and the return of Deng Xiaoping (1976–1978)

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (P ...
, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, died on September 9, 1976. The
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Enge ...
, in the wake of his death, officially urged " he carrying out ofChairman Mao's revolutionary line and policies in foreign affairs resolutely." At the time of his death, China was in a political and economic quagmire. The
Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...
and subsequent factional fighting had left the country much poorer, weaker, and isolated than it had been in 1965. Scores of capable party officials, bureaucrats, intellectuals, and professionals were languishing in prison or laboring in factories, mines, and fields. Many schools had been closed, and an entire generation of young people were unable to obtain an education, coming of age as a "lost generation", finding it harder to be employed and integrate into social life. Chinese people mourned him, but not in the more emotional way they had mourned the late
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of gov ...
Zhou Enlai. Meanwhile, Mao's designated successor
Hua Guofeng Hua Guofeng (; born Su Zhu; 16 February 1921 – 20 August 2008), alternatively spelled as Hua Kuo-feng, was a Chinese politician who served as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and Premier of the People's Republic of China. The desig ...
had assumed the post of party chairman. Hua was unaware that the Gang of Four were plotting his downfall until Defense Minister
Ye Jianying Ye Jianying (; 28 April 1897 – 22 October 1986) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary leader and politician, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. He was the top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthr ...
and several generals warned him about this, saying that he'd better do something before it was too late. Hua was a bit surprised, but he agreed, and on the 6th or 7th of October the Gang were arrested. None of them put up any resistance, although one of
Jiang Qing Jiang Qing (19 March 191414 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and major political figure during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman of ...
's housekeepers reportedly spat at her as she was being taken away. The demise and arrest of the Gang of Four prompted nationwide celebrations, including parades in the streets of
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 2 ...
and other major cities. The Gang of Four symbolized everything that went wrong during the ten years of chaos of the Cultural Revolution, and their demise, the general populace had expected, would mark the beginning of a new era. In late 1976 and early 1977, the state propaganda machine was working overtime to promote Hua Guofeng. He was billed as being Mao's personally appointed successor (with paintings produced showing him receiving Mao's final blessings) and as having saved China from the Gang of Four. Hua tried to fill his mentor's shoes by, among other things, sporting an identical haircut. He stated that "in order to honor Chairman Mao, we should govern in accordance with his wishes." and proclaimed the "Two Whatevers", meaning that "Whatever Chairman Mao said, we will say, and whatever Chairman Mao did, we will do." Throughout 1977–78, policy efforts centered around economic recovery. Schools began to reopen, and the more extreme aspects of Mao's personality cult were toned down. It was now being said that he was a great leader and thinker, but not an infallible god and that the revolution had been the work of many people and not just him. The Cultural Revolution was said to have been a well-meaning idea that got out of control, and Hua declared that a second CR might be necessary in a few years. Beginning in April 1978, newspapers stopped printing Mao's quotations in bold text. Nuclear weapons testing, missile, and space launches continued apace. Hua's reliance on Maoist orthodoxy led him to continue a
cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...
surrounding his own image alongside Mao's, equating his presence to that of Mao, but pinpointing the focus at a nominally separate era. To provide for distinct identity, Hua attempted his own change of the Chinese written language by further simplifying characters. A small number of these Hua-era simplifications continue to be in use informally, as there was no formal sanction of their legitimacy after Hua left office. In 1978, the
National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...
was changed to reflect pure communist ideology rather than revolutionary drive, inserting lyrics exclusively dealing with
Mao Zedong Thought Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...
and building an ideal socialist nation, as opposed to the wartime patriotism reflected by the original lyrics. However, Hua faced difficulty legitimizing his power due to continuing factional struggle and the fact that his rule was not legitimized by the NPC until his promotion to party Chairman in 1977. Hua's unimaginative policies received relatively little support, and he was regarded as an unremarkable leader, lacking political support within the Politburo. At the time Deng Xiaoping was still living in seclusion because of "political mistakes," and the issue of his return to politics was yet again put on the table. Deng had insisted on supporting all of Hua's policies in one of the letters the two men exchanged, to which Hua responded that Deng had "made mistakes, and rightfully must continue to receive criticism." The arrest of the Gang of Four, Hua said, did not justify that Deng's "revisionist" ideas should resurface. During a Politburo meeting in March 1977, many members voiced support for Deng's return, to no avail. In a letter to Hua dated April 10, Deng Xiaoping wrote, "I am fully behind Chairman Hua's policies and agenda for the country." This letter would be openly discussed in the Politburo, and in July 1977, Deng Xiaoping was restored in his former posts. In August, the 11th Party Congress was held, which again rehabilitated Deng and confirmed his election as the new Committee Vice-chairman, and the Central Military Commission's vice-chairman, Deng guaranteed the elevation of his supporters,
Hu Yaobang Hu Yaobang (; 20 November 1915 – 15 April 1989) was a high-ranking official of the People's Republic of China. He held the top office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1981 to 1987, first as Chairman from 1981 to 1982, then as Genera ...
,
Zhao Ziyang Zhao Ziyang ( zh, 赵紫阳; pronounced , 17 October 1919 – 17 January 2005) was a Chinese politician. He was the third premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1 ...
and
Wan Li Wan Li (1 December 1916 – 15 July 2015) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician. During a long administrative career in the People's Republic of China, he served successively as Vice Premier, Chairman of the Standing Committee of ...
. On 5 March 1978, a new constitution was adopted. This was the third one used by the PRC, after the original 1954 document (which was not followed to any meaningful extent after 1957) and the short-lived 1975 "Gang of Four" constitution. The new one was patterned after the 1954 constitution and attempted to restore some rule of law and mechanisms for economic planning. In regards to the latter, Hua Guofeng wanted a return to the Soviet-style economics of the mid-1950s. He drew up a ten-year plan which emphasized heavy industry, energy, and capital construction. In regards to foreign policy, Hua made his first trip abroad in May 1978. This was a visit to the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...
, where he was given a warm reception and joined North Korean leader Kim Il-sung in calling for the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
to withdraw its troops from the
Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...
. In September, Deng Xiaoping also visited the North Korean capital
Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...
. He was unimpressed with Kim Il-sung's extensive personality cult, having seen enough of this sort of thing in China with Mao and also took umbrage at being expected to lay a wreath in front of the giant gold-plated statue of Kim in Pyongyang. Deng reportedly expressed his displeasure at how the aid money given to North Korea by China over the years was being spent on statues and monuments honoring Kim. He suggested that they might be better served using that aid to improve their people's living standards. The North Koreans appeared to have gotten the message, for the gold plating was quietly scraped off the Kim statue in Pyongyang afterwards. Trying to crawl out of its international isolation, China mended fences with
President of Yugoslavia The president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, or the president of the Republic for short, was the head of state of that country from 14 January 1953 to 4 May 1980. Josip Broz Tito was the only person to occupy the office. Tito ...
Josip Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death ...
, who visited Beijing in May 1977 after having been long denounced as a "revisionist" and a traitor. In October 1978, Deng Xiaoping visited Japan and concluded a peace treaty with that country's prime minister
Takeo Fukuda was a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1976 to 1978. Early life and education Fukuda was born in Gunma, capital of the Gunma Prefecture on 14 January 1905. He hailed from a former samurai family and his father was ma ...
, officially ending the state of war that had existed between the two countries since the 1930s. While Japan and China had in fact opened diplomatic relations in 1972, the peace treaty took nearly six years to negotiate, one major sticking point being Chinese insistence on Tokyo including a clause that denounced Soviet "hegemony" in Asia. There was little sign of improved relations with the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, and Deng Xiaoping declared the 1950 Sino-Soviet friendship treaty to be null and void. Relations with
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
suddenly turned hostile in 1979. These two countries had once been allies, but in 1972 Mao Zedong told Vietnamese premier Pham Van Dong that they should stop expecting Chinese aid and that the old historical feud between the two countries would erupt again. China also gave its support to the genocidal
Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
regime that took power in
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thaila ...
during 1975, provoking the hostility of the Soviet-backed Vietnamese government. In January 1979, Vietnam invaded Cambodia and drove the Khmer Rouge from power. During his U.S. visit, Deng Xiaoping remarked that Vietnam would have to "be taught a lesson". In February, a full-scale Chinese attack was launched on the Vietnamese border. Although China withdrew after three weeks and declared its objectives met, the war had not gone well and demonstrated the country's weakness. The PLA lost over 20,000 men due to weapons and equipment that were outdated, poorly made, and in short supply (a side effect of the disruption caused by the Cultural Revolution), maps that were decades old, the continued use of human-wave tactics from the
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
, and the fact that the army had no system of ranks. Even worse was the fact that the Chinese had not even engaged Vietnam's regular army (which was in Cambodia), but instead fought militia and home guard units. On the other hand, it was a political victory since the Soviet Union had failed to come to its ally's aid and contented itself with verbal protests. In reference to Moscow's inaction, Deng Xiaoping reiterated Mao Zedong's saying that "You can't know how the tiger will react until you poke its backside." China finally fully established diplomatic relations with the United States on January 1, 1979. This had been planned since President Nixon's visit in February 1972, but was delayed by the
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continu ...
and the US withdrawal from Vietnam. The US agreed to recognize the PRC as China's sole government. Diplomatic relations with
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a Country, country in East Asia, at the junction of the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) to the n ...
were terminated, but unofficial and commercial ties remained. Deng Xiaoping visited the U.S. in February and met with President Carter. Meanwhile, Hua Guofeng headed to Europe in May. He first stopped in France, reportedly because it was the first western nation to recognize the PRC, and made a fierce attack on Soviet expansionism and hegemony. Later, he visited
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
, asking all "peace-loving states" to "demand a stop to aggression and hegemonism", thought to be a veiled reference to the Soviet Union, and expressed his support for German reunification, a move criticized by the
East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
news. He displayed some restraint, however, and decided against making what would have been a highly provocative visit to the
Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the governme ...
. China's establishment of diplomatic ties with the United States brought about a mixed reaction from the communist world similar to Richard Nixon's 1972 visit. While the Soviets could not condemn this, they were deeply worried about Sino-US collusion against them. Romanian dictator
Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ;  – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was ...
hailed it as "an outstanding event in the service of peace", while Yugoslav leader
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death ...
welcomed the thaw as "a contribution of peaceful coexistence between nations". North Korea also congratulated "our brotherly neighbor for ending long-hostile relations and establishing diplomatic ties with the US" while
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbe ...
and
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares l ...
openly denounced Beijing as traitors to the cause of world socialism. Sino-Albanian relations would deteriorate over the course of the next six years, ending in the termination of diplomatic correspondence between the two countries in 1978.


Deng becomes Paramount Leader

Although Hua continued in his leadership role, his power began waning the moment Deng Xiaoping returned to Beijing. The two continued to co-rule for a time, but the latter was rapidly gaining power. With Mao and Zhou Enlai gone, there was no one else in China with his experience and leadership abilities and his ideas seemed fresh and appealing as opposed to Hua's stale promotion of
Mao Zedong Thought Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...
. Hua was quickly seen as being nothing more than a vacuous party hack with no ideas of his own. This was reflected in the 1978 constitution, which still contained references to proletarian internationalism and continuous revolution. As Vice-Premier in charge of Technology and Education, Deng restored the University Entrance Examinations in 1977, opening the doors of
post-secondary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univ ...
to nearly a generation of youth who lacked this opportunity because of the Cultural Revolution, with 680,000 passing the first entrance exams, though some remained cut off from education. He elevated the social status of intellectuals from the lows of the Cultural Revolution to becoming an "integral part of socialist construction." Deng chaired the (11th)
National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party The National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (; literally: Chinese Communist Party National Representatives Congress) is a party congress that is held every five years. The National Congress is theoretically the highest body within t ...
, China's ''de jure'' legislative body, and stressed the importance of the
Four Modernizations The Four Modernizations ( simplified Chinese: 四个现代化; traditional Chinese: 四個現代化) were goals first set forth by Deng Xiaoping to strengthen the fields of agriculture, industry, defense, and science and technology in China. ...
, a series of advances in various fields aimed at strengthening the country by adapting to modern standards. By then Deng was poised to make a final political move to grab power. On May 11, 1978, the ''
Guangming Daily The ''Guangming Daily'', also known as the ''Enlightenment Daily'', is a national Chinese-language daily newspaper published in the People's Republic of China. It was established in 1949 as the official paper of the China Democratic League. S ...
'' newspaper published an article, inspected by Deng's supporter Hu Yaobang, titled "Practice sets the only Standard to Examine Truth". The article stressed the importance of uniting theory and practice, denounced the dogmatic euphoria of the Mao era, and was, in fact, an outright criticism on Hua's Two Whatevers policy. This article was reprinted in many newspapers across the country, and echoed widespread support amongst party organs and the general populace. Discussions sprung up nationwide in government and military organizations, and Deng's novel and pragmatic stance gained increasing popularity. Despite the freshness of Deng's ideas, in truth his ideas were not really new, but merely an effort to restore China to the situation of the mid-1960s, right before the Cultural Revolution, and in any case, the Politburo continued to be a gerontocracy dominated by men born in the opening years of the 20th century, all of whom had participated in the Long March and Chinese civil war. The 81 year old
Ye Jianying Ye Jianying (; 28 April 1897 – 22 October 1986) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary leader and politician, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. He was the top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthr ...
was forced to step down as defense minister in 1978 for health reasons and even with the death of several party elders during the 1970s, the average age of the Central Committee was still around 70. In April, Deng began the political rehabilitation of those who were formerly labeled "rightists" and counter-revolutionaries, a campaign led by Hu Yaobang that pardoned the wrongly accused, restoring the reputation of many party elders and intellectuals who were purged during the Cultural Revolution and other campaigns going all the way back to the
Anti-Rightist Movement The Anti-Rightist Campaign () in the People's Republic of China, which lasted from 1957 to roughly 1959, was a political campaign to purge alleged " Rightists" within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the country as a whole. The campaign was ...
in 1957. Prominent politically disgraced people including
Peng Dehuai Peng Dehuai (; October 24, 1898November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, who served as China's Defense Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was born into a poor peasant family, and received several years of primary ed ...
,
Zhang Wentian Zhang Wentian (; 30 August 1900 – 1 July 1976), also known as Luo Fu (), was a high-ranking leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Born in Nanhui, he attended the Hohai Civil Engineering School in Nanjing and spent a year at the Univers ...
,
He Long He Long (; March 22, 1896 – June 9, 1969) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and one of the ten marshals of the People's Liberation Army. He was from a poor rural family in Hunan, and his family was not able to provide him with any formal ...
and
Tao Zhu Tao Zhu (; 16 January 1908 – 30 November 1969) was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party . Biography Born in Qiyang, Hunan, Tao Zhu was Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Commander of the ...
were given belated rank-appropriate funerals at the
Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery The Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery () is Beijing's main resting place for the highest-ranking revolutionary heroes, high government officials and, in recent years, individuals deemed of major importance due to their contributions to society. In ...
.
Liu Shaoqi Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary, politician, and theorist. He was Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee from 1954 to 1959, First Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1956 to 1966 and ...
was given a large
state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...
in May 1980, when the country was asked to mourn the former president eleven years after his death. During this time, the CCP also established rules for an orderly succession of state and government leaders. Deng Xiaoping proposed mandatory retirement ages despite some protests from party elders and also guidelines were put in place that CCP members who lost their posts or were removed from office could not be jailed or subjected to physical harm. In this regard, Deng borrowed much from Soviet leader
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev ...
when the latter had ended Stalin's terror state and established the practice of using more peaceful methods to dispose of his political rivals. To that end, CCP figures such as Hua Guofeng were merely demoted to unimportant posts, but otherwise retained their party membership and state pension. In 1979, the CCP made a pledge to the nation that it would never again embark on mass campaigns like the Cultural Revolution. Meanwhile, the Gang of Four went on trial in 1980 on charges of counterrevolution, attempting to overthrow the state, and plotting to assassinate Mao. Only Jiang Qing tried to defend herself, repeatedly interrupting the proceedings with hysterical outbursts and sobbing. She argued that she had never done anything more than follow Mao's orders, saying "I was his dog. Whoever he told me to bite, I bit." and daring the authorities to cut off her head. The others were given life in prison, but Jiang was sentenced to death. However, Mao's memory still lingered strong, and her sentence was later commuted to life. She hanged herself in a Beijing hospital in 1991 while undergoing treatment for throat cancer. The power transition from Hua to Deng was confirmed in December 1978, at the Third Plenum of the
Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the c ...
of the Eleventh National Party Congress, a turning point in China's history. The course was laid for the party to move the world's most populous nation toward the ambitious targets of the Four Modernizations. After a decade of turmoil brought about by the Cultural Revolution, the new direction set at this meeting was toward economic development and away from
class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...
. The plenum endorsed major changes in the political, economic, and social system. Hua renounced his " Two Whatevers" and offered a full self-criticism. Replacing the old focus of class struggles was the new policy focused on economic construction. It also instituted sweeping personnel changes, culminating in the elevation of two key supporters of Deng Xiaoping and the reform program, Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang. In contrast to previous leadership changes, Hua would resign his posts one by one, although he remained on the Politburo until 1982. Hua was replaced by Zhao Ziyang as Premier of the State Council in September 1980, and by Hu Yaobang as Party General Secretary of the party in September 1982. The post of chairman was abolished to ensure that no one person could ever dominate the party as Mao Zedong had done. Until the mid-1990s, Deng Xiaoping was China's ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
''
Paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...
, retaining only the official title of Chairman of the Central Military Commission, but not the chief offices of the State, government, or the Party. Meanwhile,
Li Xiannian Li Xiannian (pronounced ; 23 June 1909 – 21 June 1992) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, President of the People's Republic of China (''de jure'' head of state) from 1983 to 1988 under Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping and t ...
was appointed to the post of Chinese President, vacant since 1968. Li was a believer in central planning, and his appointment to this largely ceremonial position was a compromise move to appease conservative elements in the party. With changes to the Chinese Constitution in 1982, the President was conceived of as a "
figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...
"
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
, with actual power resting in the hands of the
Premier of the People's Republic of China The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...
and the
General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
of the Party, who were meant to be two separate people. In the original plan, the Party would develop policy, and the state would execute it. Deng's intentions were to have power divided, thus preventing a cult of personality from forming as it did in the case of Mao. The new emphasis on procedure, however, seemed largely undermined by Deng himself, who assumed none of the official titles on the grounds that they should go to younger men. After 1979, the Chinese leadership moved toward more pragmatic policies in almost all fields. The party encouraged artists, writers and journalists to adopt more critical approaches, although open attacks on party authority were not permitted. The Chinese government repudiated the Cultural Revolution. A major document presented at the September 1979 Fourth Plenum of the Eleventh National Party Congress Central Committee, gave a "preliminary assessment" of the entire 30-year period of Communist rule. At the plenum, party Vice Chairman
Ye Jianying Ye Jianying (; 28 April 1897 – 22 October 1986) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary leader and politician, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. He was the top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthr ...
declared the Cultural Revolution "an appalling catastrophe" and "the most severe setback to hesocialist cause since
949 Year 949 ( CMXLIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab-Byzantine War: Hamdanid forces under Sayf al-Dawla raid into the theme of L ...
" The Chinese government's condemnation of the Cultural Revolution culminated in the ''Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China'', adopted by the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. This stated that "Comrade Mao Zedong was a great Marxist and a great proletarian revolutionary, strategist and theorist. It is true that he made gross mistakes during the "cultural revolution", but, if we judge his activities as a whole, his contributions to the Chinese revolution far outweigh his mistakes. His merits are primary and his errors secondary." As political ideology was downgraded, numerous statues of Mao were removed around the country and portraits of
Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
,
Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
''
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
, and
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
were taken down from
Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen ...
. In late 1978, after an official evaluation of the
1976 Tiananmen Incident The Tiananmen Incident () or the April 5 Tiananmen Incident was a mass gathering and protest that took place on 4–5 April 1976, at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. The incident occurred on the traditional day of mourning, the Qingming Fe ...
as a "completely a revolutionary event", many emboldened people began staging rallies and protests in Beijing. They erected a large number of wall posters (the so-called "
Democracy Wall From November 1978 to December 1979, thousands of people put up " big character posters" on a long brick wall of Xidan Street, Xicheng District of Beijing, to protest about the political and social issues of China. Under acquiescence of the Chines ...
") criticizing the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong, the Gang of Four, and Hua Guofeng. All these were tolerated because of being more-or-less in line with official positions, but some began calling for democracy and open elections. One candidate for a local position even declared his disbelief in communism. This was more than the authorities were willing to tolerate and they quickly stressed that the party would continue to hold power and guide the nation towards socialism. While greater freedom of thought would be allowed, loyalty to the party and socialist thought would still be required. Certain critics were arrested, including
Wei Jingsheng Wei Jingsheng (; born 20 May 1950) is a Chinese human rights activist and dissident. He is best known for his involvement in the Chinese democracy movement. He is most prominent for having authored the essay "The Fifth Modernization", which wa ...
, who put up a poster about a " fifth modernization", i.e. democracy. Nonetheless, writers began criticizing corruption, privileges enjoyed by party officials, and unemployment, all things that supposedly could not exist under socialism. It was now officially admitted that 20 million Chinese were unemployed and 100 million did not have enough food to eat.


Boluan Fanzheng and economic reform


A new page in diplomacy

Relations with the West improved markedly during Deng's term, although the People's Republic of China had gained a certain degree of recognition from the West in the late Mao era. In 1968, the government of Canadian Prime Minister
Pierre Elliott Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...
initiated negotiations with the People's Republic of China that led to the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world ...
on October 13, 1970. Canada and China established resident diplomatic missions in 1971, and it led to a series of diplomatic successes in the west. The People's Republic of China joined the United Nations in 1971, replacing the international legitimacy previously held by the ''
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
'' Government of the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
on the island of Taiwan. In February 1972, US President Richard Nixon made an unprecedented eight-day visit to the People's Republic of China and met with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai. On February 22, 1973, the United States and the PRC agreed to establish liaison offices. David K. E. Bruce became the first U.S. liaison to
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 2 ...
on May 14, 1973, and Huang Zhen arrived in Washington as China's liaison on May 30. Full diplomatic relations were established in 1979. Deng traveled abroad and had a series of amicable meetings with western leaders, traveling to the United States in 1979 to meet President Jimmy Carter at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 180 ...
. Carter finally recognized the People's Republic, which had replaced the Taiwan-based Republic of China as the sole Chinese government recognized by the
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, a ...
in 1971. One of Deng's achievements was the agreement signed by the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...
and the PRC on December 19, 1984, under which
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
was to be transferred to the PRC in 1997. With the 99-year lease on the New Territories coming to an end, Deng agreed that the PRC would not interfere with Hong Kong's
capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private p ...
system and would allow the locals a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years. This "one country, two systems" approach has been touted by the PRC government as a potential framework within which Taiwan could be reunited with the mainland. Deng, however, did not improve relations with the Soviet Union. He continued to adhere to the Maoist line of the
Sino-Soviet Split The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications of Marxism–Len ...
era, which stated that the Soviet Union was a
superpower A superpower is a state with a dominant position characterized by its extensive ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political and cultural s ...
equally as "hegemonist" as the United States, yet even more threatening to the PRC because of its closer proximity. Deng brought China conflict with Vietnam in 1979, following the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietna ...
, under this subject of border disputes, and fought in the
Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a border war fought between China and Vietnam in early 1979. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's actions against the Khmer Rouge in 1978, which ended the rule of the C ...
. "Red China" was a frequent appellation for the PRC between the Communist ascendancy and the mid-late 1970s with the
rapprochement In international relations, a rapprochement, which comes from the French word ''rapprocher'' ("to bring together"), is a re-establishment of cordial relations between two countries. This may be done due to a mutual enemy, as was the case with Germ ...
between China and the West (generally within the capitalist/Western bloc). The term was first used, before the establishment of the PRC, in the late 1940s during the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...
, to describe the Communist side, and saw great prevalence in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. Starting around 1972–1973, following Richard Nixon's visit to China and the beginning of rapprochment and mounting likelihood of diplomatic normalization, the term began to drop in usage significantly. By the early 1980s, it was increasingly rare in mainstream journalism and publications in the Western countries. Since the early 1980s, however, the term remains in use in some circles, particularly
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...
or
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...
political discourse and publications; nonetheless, some, including some conservatives, feel the term is not applicable to China in the contemporary period as the country is no longer a "monolithic political entity whose subjects march in lockstep with an all-powerful Communist regime". As of the early 2000s, "Red China" still retains some use among more right-wing writers, especially when framing China as an economic or political competitor or opponent (e.g. the "China threat" theory). "Red China" is sometimes used in more mainstream/less overtly partisan journalism for metaphoric or comparative use (e.g. "Red China or Green", ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' article title).


Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979

China's relations with the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
began to deteriorate seriously in the mid-1970s. After Vietnam joined the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
-dominated Council for Mutual Economic Cooperation (
Comecon The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (, ; English abbreviation COMECON, CMEA, CEMA, or CAME) was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc along wit ...
) and signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the Soviet Union in 1978, China branded Vietnam the "
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbe ...
of the East" and called the treaty a military alliance. Incidents along the Sino-Vietnamese border increased in frequency and violence. In December 1978 Vietnam invaded Cambodia, quickly ousted the
Pol Pot Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist ...
regime, and overran the country. China's twenty-nine-day incursion into Vietnam in February 1979 was a response to what China considered to be provocations on
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi ...
's part. These included Vietnamese intimacy with the Soviet Union, mistreatment of ethnic Chinese living in Vietnam, hegemonistic "imperial dreams" in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
, and spurning of Beijing's attempt to repatriate Chinese residents of Vietnam to China. In February 1979 China attacked along virtually the entire Sino-Vietnamese border in a brief, limited campaign that involved ground forces only. The Chinese attack came at dawn on the morning of 17 February 1979, and employed infantry, armor, and artillery. Air power was not employed then or at any time during the war. Within a day, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) had advanced some eight kilometers into Vietnam along a broad front. It then slowed and nearly stalled because of heavy Vietnamese resistance and difficulties within the Chinese supply system. On February 21, the advance resumed against Cao Bang in the far north and against the all-important regional hub of Lang Son. Chinese troops entered Cao Bang on February 27, but the city was not secured completely until March 2. Lang Son fell two days later. On March 5, the Chinese, saying Vietnam had been sufficiently chastised, announced that the campaign was over. Beijing declared its "lesson" finished and the PLA withdrawal was completed on March 16. Hanoi's post-incursion depiction of the border war was that Beijing had sustained a military setback if not an outright defeat. Most observers doubted that China would risk another war with Vietnam in the near future. Gerald Segal, in his 1985 book Defending China, concluded that China's 1979 war against Vietnam was a complete failure: "China failed to force a Vietnamese withdrawal from ambodia failed to end border clashes, failed to cast doubt on the strength of the Soviet power, failed to dispel the image of China as a
paper tiger "Paper tiger" is a literal English translation of the Chinese phrase ''zhǐlǎohǔ'' ( zh, s=纸老虎, t=紙老虎). The term refers to something or someone that claims or appears to be powerful or threatening, but is actually ineffectual and ...
, and failed to draw the United States into an anti-Soviet coalition." Nevertheless, Bruce Elleman argued that "one of the primary diplomatic goals behind China's attack was to expose Soviet assurances of military support to Vietnam as a fraud. Seen in this light, Beijing's policy was actually a diplomatic success, since Moscow did not actively intervene, thus showing the practical limitations of the Soviet-Vietnamese military pact. ... China achieved a strategic victory by minimizing the future possibility of a two-front war against the
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
and Vietnam." After the war both China and Vietnam reorganized their border defenses. In 1986, China deployed twenty-five to twenty-eight divisions and Vietnam thirty-two divisions along their common border. The 1979 attack confirmed Hanoi's perception of China as a threat. The
PAVN The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed win ...
high command henceforth had to assume, for planning purposes, that the Chinese might come again and might not halt in the foothills but might drive on to Hanoi. The border war strengthened Soviet-Vietnamese relations. The Soviet military role in Vietnam increased during the 1980s as the Soviets provided arms to Vietnam; moreover, Soviet ships enjoyed access to the harbors at Danang and
Cam Ranh Bay Cam Ranh Bay ( vi, Vịnh Cam Ranh) is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilom ...
, and Soviet reconnaissance aircraft operated out of Vietnamese airfields. The Vietnamese responded to the Chinese campaign by turning the districts along the China border into "iron fortresses" manned by well-equipped and well-trained paramilitary troops. In all, an estimated 600,000 troops were assigned to counter Chinese operations and to stand ready for another Chinese invasion. The precise dimensions of the frontier operations were difficult to determine, but its monetary cost to Vietnam was considerable. By 1987, China had stationed nine armies (approximately 400,000 troops) in the Sino-Vietnamese border region, including one along the coast. It had also increased its landing craft fleet and was periodically staging amphibious landing exercises off
Hainan Island Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
, across from Vietnam, thereby demonstrating that a future attack might come from the sea. Low-level conflict continued along the Sino-Vietnamese border as each side conducted artillery shelling and probed to gain high spots in the mountainous border terrain. Border incidents increased in intensity during the rainy season, when Beijing attempted to ease Vietnamese pressure against Cambodian resistance fighters. Since the early 1980s, China pursued what some observers described as a semi-secret campaign against Vietnam that was more than a series of border incidents and less than a limited small-scale war. The Vietnamese called it a "multifaceted war of sabotage." Hanoi officials have described the assaults as comprising steady harassment by artillery fire, intrusions on land by infantry patrols, naval intrusions, and mine planting both at sea and in the riverways. Chinese clandestine activity (the "sabotage" aspect) for the most part was directed against the ethnic minorities of the border region. According to the Hanoi press, teams of Chinese agents systematically sabotaged mountain agricultural production centers as well as lowland port, transportation, and communication facilities. Psychological warfare operations were an integral part of the campaign, as was what the Vietnamese called "
economic warfare Economic warfare or economic war is an economic strategy utilized by belligerent nations with the goal of weakening the economy of other states. This is primarily achieved by the use of economic blockades. Ravaging the crops of the enemy is a cl ...
"—encouragement of Vietnamese villagers along the border to engage in smuggling, currency speculation, and hoarding of goods in short supply. In recent years, both countries have pursued good relations and downplayed the years of hostility from 1979 to 1988. As a result, the Sino-Vietnamese conflict is generally not on the list of topics that may be openly mentioned in print or the media in present-day China, although veterans of the war are allowed to discuss their experiences on the Internet and correspond with their Vietnamese counterparts. On the other hand, a group of Chinese college students in 2007 discussed online plans for an invasion and conquest of Vietnam. This provoked considerable alarm in Hanoi, but the Chinese government stated that these were in no way officially sanctioned. After Ronald Reagan was elected US president in 1980, he gave a speech criticizing the Beijing government and proposing that diplomatic ties with Taiwan be restored. This aroused panic in China, and Reagan was convinced by his advisors to retract these statements. Vice President
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...
(who had been liaison officer to China from 1972 to 1978) then apologized for the president's remarks. Despite this, Sino-US relations took a downward turn in 1981–1982. The Chinese took umbrage at Reagan's vocal anti-communism, even though it was mainly directed at the Soviet Union, as well as continued US arms sales to Taiwan. In December 1981, Premier Zhao Ziyang visited
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...
where he attacked the US troop presence on the Korean peninsula and stated that it was responsible for the continued division of the country. There were various minor squabbles such as the granting of asylum to a prominent tennis player, Hu Na, who feared persecution for refusing to join the CCP. China cancelled several educational and cultural exchange programs with the United States as a result of this episode. The US
invasion of Grenada The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, ...
and stationing of missiles in
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
met with Chinese disapproval, and the two countries took opposing sides on the Falkland Islands conflict, the Palestinian question, and the presence of American troops in South Korea. By 1984, Sino-US relations had improved and President Reagan visited Beijing in April–May of that year. The trip went well, although a speech made by Reagan that promoted capitalism, democracy, and religious freedom, as well as indirect criticism of the Soviet Union, was not aired on TV in China. In general however, China's foreign policy pronouncements were much more restrained than in the Mao era, and Beijing stated that its aim was now world peace rather than world revolution. Relations with the Soviet Union at last began to show some improvement and Foreign Minister
Huang Hua Huang Hua (; ; January 25, 1913 – November 24, 2010) was a senior Communist Chinese revolutionary, politician, and diplomat. He served as Foreign Minister of China from 1976 to 1982, and concurrently as Vice Premier from 1980 to 1982. He was i ...
led a delegation to Soviet general secretary
Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and 198 ...
's funeral in November 1982. Huang met with his counterpart
Andrei Gromyko Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (russian: Андрей Андреевич Громыко; be, Андрэй Андрэевіч Грамыка;  – 2 July 1989) was a Soviet communist politician and diplomat during the Cold War. He served as ...
and referred to Brezhnev as an "outstanding champion of world peace". He also expressed his hope for normalized Sino-Soviet relations, but in doing so apparently moved too quickly for the Beijing government, as he was removed from office almost as soon as he returned home (he had a history of making public statements that were at odds with official policy). On the state level, Sino-Soviet relations did improve during the 1980s. Trade and cultural exchanges grew substantially, but there was no indication of improved ties on the party level and no sign that the CCP was willing to treat the CPSU as an equal. Nagging foreign policy problems remained such as the presence of Soviet troops and nuclear missiles in Mongolia, as well as continued Soviet support for Vietnam and its occupation of Cambodia.


Economic Reform and Opening up

The new, pragmatic leadership emphasized economic development and renounced mass political movements. At the pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th CCP Congress, opened on 22 December 1978, the leadership adopted economic reform policies known as the
Four Modernizations The Four Modernizations ( simplified Chinese: 四个现代化; traditional Chinese: 四個現代化) were goals first set forth by Deng Xiaoping to strengthen the fields of agriculture, industry, defense, and science and technology in China. ...
. These tenets aimed at expanding rural income and incentives, encouraging experiments in enterprise autonomy, reducing central planning, and establishing direct foreign investment in Mainland China. The Plenum also decided to accelerate the pace of legal reform, culminating in the passage of several new legal codes by the
National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,9 ...
in June 1979. The goals of Deng's reforms were summed up by the Four Modernizations: the modernization of agriculture, industry, science and technology, as well as the military. The strategy for achieving these aims, all of which were designed to help China become a modern, industrial nation, was "
socialism with Chinese characteristics Socialism with Chinese characteristics ( zh, s=中国特色社会主义, hp=Zhōngguó tèsè shèhuìzhǔyì) is a set of political theories and policies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that are seen by their proponents as representing ...
". It opened a new era in Chinese history known as "Reforms and Opening up"() to the Outside World. The ten-year plan drafted by Hua Guofeng in 1978 was quickly abandoned on the grounds that China had neither the budget or the technical expertise to carry it out. Instead, a more modest five-year plan was adopted that emphasized light industry and consumer production. In September 1982, the 12th Party Congress convened in Beijing. The United States and the Soviet Union were again criticized for imperialism and unification with Taiwan stressed. Most importantly, another new constitution was adopted in place of the 1978 document. This version (which remains China's constitution to the present day) emphasized foreign assistance in modernizing and developing the country, thus rejecting the Maoist self-reliance of the 1975 and 1978 constitutions. The last remaining references to the Cultural Revolution were also removed. Instead, the 1982 constitution stated that the "exploiter" class had been eliminated in China and so class struggle was no longer a relevant issue. Personality cults were also officially denounced at the 12th Congress. However, these changes were not managed without overcoming opposition in the party, bureaucracy, and military. There were still a few extremist followers of the Gang of Four, but not many and efforts were made to weed them from the party. There did exist a large number of
Stalinists Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
who believed in orthodox central planning, and socio-political conformity. This group generally wanted to return to the ways of the 1950s and restore ties with the Soviet Union, believing that the communist world was China's natural friend. In particular, many of the Stalinists thought that Deng Xiaoping was moving too far in dismantling Mao's legacy and allowing greater freedom of expression. The largest number of them were in the military, which complained about having its budget cut from 10% of China's total GDP in 1978 to 5% by 1982. Several weapons projects that had been in the works during the '70s were dropped due to being too expensive and unnecessary and generals also objected at being asked to produce consumer goods (a common practice in the Soviet Union) instead of receiving badly needed defense modernization. Deng stressed the need for military obedience to party directives, reminding them of Mao's dictum that "The party must control the gun, but the gun must never be allowed to control the party." A higher degree of professionalism was emphasized in the PLA during the 1980s and the system of ranks that had been abolished in 1965 was slowly restored. On National Day (October 1) 1984, China staged its first
military parade A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the la ...
since 1959 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. These parades had been held every year during the 1950s, then called off due to cost reasons. The 1984 event however showed the relative backwardness of China's armed forces, which had only recently reached the technological level of the Soviet Union 25 years earlier. In 1985, Yeh Jianyang and several other elderly party leaders agreed to retire. Deng argued that China was in the
primary stage of socialism The primary stage of socialism (sometimes referred to as the preliminary stage of socialism),''Properly Understand Theories Concerning Preliminary Stage of Socialism'', by Wei Xinghua and Sang Baichuan. 1998. Journal of Renmin University of Chin ...
and that the duty of the party was to perfect "socialism with Chinese characteristics." This interpretation of Chinese Marxism reduced the role of ideology in economic decision-making and emphasized policies that had been proven to be empirically effective, stressing the need to "seek truth from facts". Rejecting Mao's idealistic, communitarian values but not necessarily the values of Marx and Lenin, Deng emphasized that socialism did not mean shared poverty (thus repudiating the Gang of Four's slogan "We would rather be poor under socialism than rich under capitalism.") Unlike Hua Guofeng, Deng believed that no policy should be rejected out of hand simply because it had not been associated with Mao. Unlike more conservative leaders such as
Chen Yun Chen Yun (, pronounced ; 13 June 1905 – 10 April 1995) was one of the most influential leaders of the People's Republic of China during the 1980s and 1990s and one of the major architects and important policy makers for the Reform and op ...
, Deng did not object to policies on the grounds that they were similar to those found in capitalist nations. He merely stated that these ideas were part of the common heritage of mankind and not specifically tied to either capitalism or socialism. Although Deng provided the theoretical background and the political support to allow economic reform to occur, few of the economic reforms that Deng introduced were originated by Deng himself. Local leaders, often in violation of central government directives introduced many reforms. If successful and promising, these reforms would be adopted by larger and larger areas, and ultimately introduced nationally. Many other reforms were influenced by the experiences of the East Asian Tigers. Among other things, it was now being admitted that Taiwan's per-capita GDP was three times that of the mainland. This is in sharp contrast to the economic restructuring, or ''
perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
'', undertaken by Soviet general secretary
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Comm ...
, in which Gorbachev himself originated most of the major reforms. Many economists have argued that the bottom-up approach of Deng's reforms, in contrast to the top-down approach of Perestroika, was a key factor in his success. In a 1985 interview with Frank Gibney of
Encyclopædia Britannica The ( Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
, Deng remarked that the Soviet system suffered from an inflexibility and rigidness that did not affect China. Contrary to popular misconceptions, Deng's reforms included introduction of planned, centralized management of the macro-economy by technically proficient bureaucrats, abandoning Mao's mass campaign style of economic construction. However, unlike the Soviet model or China under Mao, this management was indirect, through market mechanisms, and much of it was modeled after economic planning and control mechanisms in Western nations. This trend did not impede the general move toward the market at the
microeconomic Microeconomics is a branch of mainstream economics that studies the behavior of individuals and firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of scarce resources and the interactions among these individuals and firms. Microeconomics focu ...
level. Deng sustained Mao's legacy to the extent that he stressed the primacy of agricultural output and encouraged a significant decentralization of decision-making in the rural economy teams and individual peasant households. At the local level, material incentives rather than political appeals were to be used to motivate the labor force, including allowing peasants to earn extra income by selling the produce of their private plots on the free market. In the main move toward market allocation, local municipalities and provinces were allowed to invest in industries that they considered most profitable, which encouraged investment in light manufacturing. Thus, Deng's reforms shifted China's development strategy to emphasize light industry and export-led growth. Light industrial output was vital for a developing country that was working with relatively little capital. With its short gestation period, low capital requirements, and high foreign exchange export earnings, the revenues that the light-manufacturing sector generated could be reinvested in more technologically advanced production and further capital expenditures and investments. However, these investments were not government-mandated, in sharp contrast to the similar but much less successful reforms in
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
and
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...
. The capital invested in heavy industry largely came from the banking system, and most of that capital came from consumer deposits. One of the first items of the Deng reforms was to prevent reallocation of profits except through taxation or through the banking system; hence, the reallocation in more "advanced" industries was somewhat indirect. In short, Deng's reforms sparked an industrial revolution in China. These reforms were a reversal of the Maoist policy of autarky and economic self-reliance. The PRC decided to accelerate the modernization process by stepping up the volume of foreign trade, especially the purchase of machinery from
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and the West. By participating in such export-led growth, the PRC was able to step up the Four Modernizations by taking advantage of foreign funds, markets, advanced technologies, and management experience. Deng also attracted foreign companies to a series of
Special Economic Zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
s, where capitalist business practices were encouraged. Another important focus of the reforms was the need to improve labor productivity. New material incentives and bonus systems were introduced. Rural markets selling peasants' homegrown products and the surplus products of communes were revived. Not only did rural markets increase agricultural output, they stimulated industrial development as well. With peasants able to sell surplus agricultural yields on the open market, domestic consumption stimulated industrialization, and also created political support for more difficult economic reforms. Deng's
market socialism Market socialism is a type of economic system involving the public, cooperative, or social ownership of the means of production in the framework of a market economy, or one that contains a mix of worker-owned, nationalized, and privately own ...
, especially in its early stages, was in some ways parallel to Lenin's
New Economic Policy The New Economic Policy (NEP) () was an economic policy of the Soviet Union proposed by Vladimir Lenin in 1921 as a temporary expedient. Lenin characterized the NEP in 1922 as an economic system that would include "a free market and capitalism, ...
and
Bukharin Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin (russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Буха́рин) ( – 15 March 1938) was a Bolshevik revolutionary, Soviet politician, Marxist philosopher and economist and prolific author on revolutionary theory. ...
's economic policies, in that they all foresaw a role for private entrepreneurs and markets based on trade and pricing rather than government mandates of production. An interesting anecdotal episode on this note is the first meeting between Deng and
Armand Hammer Armand Hammer (May 21, 1898 – December 10, 1990) was an American business manager and owner, most closely associated with Occidental Petroleum, a company he ran from 1957 until his death. Called "Lenin's chosen capitalist" by the press, ...
. Deng pressed the industrialist and former investor in Lenin's Soviet Union for as much information on the NEP as possible. Concurrent with economic reforms, China began a major crackdown on crime in what became known as "Strike Hard" campaigns. These have been launched periodically up to the present day and are typically accompanied by the liberal use of capital punishment and occasionally even mass executions. This stands in contrast to the Mao era, where executions were relatively rare after the CCP's consolidation of power during 1950-52 and criminals were generally punished with labor reform and political reeducation.


Tiananmen Square protests

At the same time, political dissent as well as social problems, including
inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reducti ...
,
political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, i ...
, massive urban migration, and
prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
emerged. The 1980s saw a surge in intellectual material as the country emerged from the conformity of the Cultural Revolution; the time period between 1982 and 1989 saw
freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerci ...
like never before, and has since then never been seen again. Two prominent schools of thought emerged. One school composed of students and intellectuals who urged greater economic and political reforms; the other, composed of revolutionary party elders, became increasingly skeptical on the pace and the ultimate goals of the reform program, as it deviated from the intended direction of the Communist Party. Hard-liners in the party and especially the military stated that "art and literature must serve politics", while moderates were willing to tolerate apolitical material. Nonetheless, writers and artists were still told that their primary job was to "educate the people to believe in socialism". As such, the party took a stand against certain Western ideas and philosophies, as well as abstract theories of human nature. Highly personal poetry and discussions of the subconscious were viewed as representing an "unhealthy" tendency. Officials also took a stand against
pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,
, which was being imported from Hong Kong in large quantities. This was coming at a time when many young people were skeptical of the party's leadership and increasingly questioning whether it was really possible to achieve socialism or if doing so was desirable. Nonetheless, the authorities tolerated Zhao Cuan's play ''Marx In London'' which was compatible with official viewpoints in that it presented the communist founding father as a mortal man who lived in a different age and whose theories could not provide the answers for all of China's present-day problems. On the other hand, the writer Liu Binyan, who had been in and out of favor since 1957, was criticized for his novel ''A Different Kind Of Loyalty'' which suggested that the Communist Party was not infallible, nor should it be followed without question. In late 1983, there appeared to be a brief revival of the Cultural Revolution when, after a speech by Deng Xiaoping condemning "spiritual contamination", the "
Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign The Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign () was a political campaign spearheaded by conservative factions within the Chinese Communist Party that lasted from October 1983 to December 1983. In general, its advocates wanted to curb Western-inspired ...
" was launched. Pornography and unacceptable writings were confiscated, people with Western hairstyles were forced to cut their hair, and army units were required to sing "Socialism is Good", a venerable tune that had been banned during the Cultural Revolution for "keeping the people too quiet." However, Deng Xiaoping rather quickly halted the campaign. During the 1980s, religious freedom was restored in China after having been virtually outlawed in 1966–1976. The state restored de facto recognition of five official faiths,
Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
,
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
,
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
, and
Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...
. Houses of worship were permitted to operate with a license and under the condition that they not oppose the party and socialism. This religious settlement remains in China to the present day. In December 1986, student demonstrators, taking advantage of the loosening political atmosphere, staged protests against the slow pace of reform, confirming party elders' fears that the current reform program was leading to a kind of social instability, the same kind that killed hundreds of millions between the years of the
Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...
and the founding of the PRC. Inspired by
Fang Lizhi Fang Lizhi (also Li-Zhi; February 12, 1936 – April 6, 2012) was a Chinese astrophysicist, vice-president of the University of Science and Technology of China, and activist whose liberal ideas inspired the pro-democracy student movement ...
, a physicist from the University of Science and Technology of China who gave speeches criticizing Deng's go slow policies, students took to protest. The students were also disenchanted with the amount of control the government exerted, citing compulsory
calisthenics Calisthenics (American English) or callisthenics (British English) ( /ˌkælɪsˈθɛnɪks/) is a form of strength training consisting of a variety of movements that exercise large muscle groups (gross motor movements), such as standing, graspi ...
and not being allowed to dance at rock concerts. Students called for campus elections, the chance to study abroad, and greater availability of western
pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ...
. Hu Yaobang, a protégé of Deng and a leading advocate of reform, was blamed for the protests and forced to resign as the CCP General Secretary in January 1987. In the "Anti Bourgeois Liberalization Campaign", Hu would be further denounced. Premier Zhao Ziyang was made General Secretary and
Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Chi ...
, a staunch conservative who was unpopular with the masses, formerly Vice Premier and Minister of Electric Power and Water Conservancy, was made Premier. At the 13th Party Congress of the CCP in October–November 1987, Deng Xiaoping and remaining Party elders formally stepped down from power. This included a number of hard-liner Maoists who had resisted Deng's policies, including
Chen Yun Chen Yun (, pronounced ; 13 June 1905 – 10 April 1995) was one of the most influential leaders of the People's Republic of China during the 1980s and 1990s and one of the major architects and important policy makers for the Reform and op ...
and Li Xiannan. The new leadership of the Central Committee averaged 5.5 years younger, and more than 70% were college educated. However, even with the retirement of the aged Long March veterans, they still retained considerable political pull behind the scenes, and one complaint of the student demonstrators in 1989 was the continued political influence exerted by party officials who were supposed to be retired. It was speculated that the appointment of
Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Chi ...
, a known political hardliner, as premier was a concession to Deng Xiaoping's opponents. The major policy declaration of the 13th Congress was formal endorsement of "market" socialism and that it was necessary to "adapt the principles of socialism to fit reality rather than bend reality to fit ideology." As a further move away from the past, in 1988 the party decided that portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin would no longer be displayed in Tiananmen Square on national holidays, only portraits of Mao and Sun Yat-sen. After Zhao became the party General Secretary, the economic and political reforms he had championed came under increasing attack from his colleagues. His proposal in May 1988 to accelerate price reform led to widespread popular complaints about rampant inflation and gave opponents of rapid reform the opening to call for greater centralization of economic controls and stricter prohibitions against Western influence. This precipitated a political debate, which grew more heated through the winter of 1988–1989. With demands for political reforms growing, Deng Xiaoping merely reiterated that the Communist Party was necessary to provide stable leadership and economic development and that "China is not ready for democracy. If we were to hold elections tomorrow, the country would be plunged into a civil war." The death of Hu Yaobang on April 15, 1989, coupled with growing economic hardship caused by high inflation and other social factors, provided the backdrop for a large-scale protest movement by students, intellectuals, and other parts of a disaffected urban population. University students and other citizens in Beijing camped out at Tiananmen Square to mourn Hu's death and to protest against those who would slow reform. Their protests, which grew despite government efforts to contain them, although not strictly anti-Government in nature, called for an end to official corruption and for the defense of freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. Protests also spread through many other cities, including
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
,
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kong ...
, and
Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provi ...
. On April 26, the central leadership, under Deng Xiaoping, issued the ''4-26 Editorial'' on ''
People's Daily The ''People's Daily'' () is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The newspaper provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP. In addition to its main Chinese-language ...
'', which was subsequently broadcast on national media, denouncing all recent actions of protest as a form of "turmoil" (). The editorial was the first in a series of events in an effort to contain the escalating protests through forceful measures. Thereafter, Deng's actions caused the presidency to have much greater power than originally intended. Various leaders sympathetic to the students, most notably Wan Li, then the NPC Chairman with a degree of constitutional powers to prevent full military action, were placed under house arrest after landing in Beijing. Wan's seclusion ensured that Premier Li Peng was able, in cooperation with Deng, then-head of the Central Military Commission, to use the office of the Premier to declare
martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Martia ...
in Beijing and order the military crackdown of the protests. This was in direct opposition to the wishes of the Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang and other members of the
Politburo Standing Committee The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Histor ...
. Martial law was declared on May 20, 1989. Late on June 3 and early on the morning of June 4, a date now synonymous with the movement in the Chinese language, military units were called from neighboring provinces and brought into Beijing. Armed force was used to clear demonstrators from the streets. Official PRC estimates place the number of deaths at between two and three hundred, whilst groups such as the
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...
believe the number to be in the two to three thousand range. After the protests, the Chinese government faced hordes of criticism from foreign governments for the suppression of the protests, the government reined in remaining sources of dissent that were a threat to order and stability, detained large numbers of protesters, and required political re-education not only for students but also for insubordinate party cadre and government officials. Zhao Ziyang would be placed under house arrest until his death some 16 years later, and due to the subject still being largely
taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
in China, Zhao has not yet been politically rehabilitated.


One Child Policy

In 1979, the Chinese government instituted a
one child policy The term one-child policy () refers to a population planning initiative in China implemented between 1980 and 2015 to curb the country's population growth by restricting many families to a single child. That initiative was part of a much br ...
to try to control its rapidly increasing population. The government had already enacted an aggressive family planning policy and fertility rates were already dropping sharply. Simultaneously there were major market-oriented economic reforms, which launched very rapid growth and migration to cities, which also reduced fertility. The policy was highly controversial in rural areas (where children were an asset in farm work) and interfered with the strong demand for sons. It helped solve the problem of famine, but by 2010 was leading to a major demographic disaster, with too many old retired people supported by too few workers. China returned to a two-child policy in 2015, then to a three-child policy in 2021, and finally abolished any limit later that year. Controversies are ongoing.Junsen Zhang, "The evolution of China's one-child policy and its effects on family outcomes." ''Journal of Economic Perspectives'' 31.1 (2017): 141-60
online


Notes


References


Further reading

* Dittmer, Lowell. "China in 1981: Reform, Readjustment, Rectification." ''Asian Survey'' 22.1 (1982): 33–46
online
* Donnithorne, Audrey. "Prolonged Readjustment: Zhao Ziyang on Current Economic Policy." ''Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs'' 8 (1982): 111–126. * Lam, Willy Wo-Lap. ''The era of Zhao Ziyang: power struggle in China, 1986-88'' (AB Books & Stationery, 1989). * Rosen, Stanley. "China in 1987: The year of the thirteenth party congress." ''Asian Survey'' 28.1 (1988): 35–51.
online
{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of The People's Republic Of China (1976-1989) (1976-1989) 20th century in China