Chapter 3 "crossing the river by feeling the stones"

In 1972, Mao Zedong met with Richard Nixon from the United States in the Great Hall of the People, and the relationship between China and the United States underwent an astonishingly great change.The significance of this meeting is extraordinary.Prior to this, the diplomatic contact between US National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai made this meeting a reality.Of course, "ping-pong diplomacy" should not be forgotten. In 1971, China extended a goodwill invitation to the U.S. table tennis team, laying the groundwork for the normalization of relations between the two countries a year later.This may be the most important moment in the history of table tennis.

However, neither "ping-pong diplomacy" nor Beijing's well-prepared banquet for Nixon fundamentally changed the state of "cold peace" between China and the world.The opening up between China and the United States is largely limited to the political field, limited to the easing of tension and the increase of diplomatic exchanges. Before 1978, China remained isolated from its neighbors and the world.Although China and the Soviet Union were allies in the global confrontation between communism and capitalism, in fact the relationship between the two sides was cold.China is neither willing to draw closer to the West nor closer to the East.For more than a century before the founding of New China, China has been under pressure and invasion from the West; in the first 10 years after the founding of New China, China has been committed to achieving independence, autonomy and self-sufficiency. The "self-sufficiency" approach is partly at odds with being part of the world.

In 1978, Deng Xiaoping became the main leader of the Communist Party of China and the country, and China began the process of reform and modernization.At that time, too many people in China were living in poverty.Deng Xiaoping wisely realized that unless this situation changed, it would be impossible to form a close relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and the people.Deng Xiaoping had an admirable vision.He has experienced ups and downs within the party.When Mao Zedong passed away, Deng Xiaoping was already 72 years old. At his age, most people began to look back on their own lives and prepared to enjoy their old age, but he did not think so. He has been serving the Chinese Communist Party, which is admirable; He has endured ordeals without giving up, which is amazing again.These have won him the respect of many elders in the party and the support of the younger generation.

Deng Xiaoping wanted to change the way the Chinese Communist Party managed the economy.To this end, he first embarked on agricultural reform and began to implement the land contract system.Later, he proposed to create some special economic zones in the southern coastal areas of China.These special economic zones have more favorable tax rates for private and foreign-invested enterprises, and individuals enjoy more freedom to do business here.The main criterion for the location of these SEZs is proximity to commercial and trade centers in the West. The purpose of this certain degree of opening up is to make the special economic zone a "test field" for reform, but the Chinese people's desire for more freedom to do business and improve their living standards has led to a "business fever".In regions that had been economically slumbering, such as the Pearl River Delta region to the south of Hong Kong, China, trade and industry have grown significantly.Unable to adapt to this huge change, many people began to worry.There are also people who oppose the introduction of foreign capital into China's closed economy in the late 1970s and early 1980s, fearing that once foreign capital enters China, it may threaten China's stability.

However, there is no turning back when the bow is opened.Throughout the 1980s, although the pace of reform was quick and sometimes slow, it never stopped and achieved remarkable results. In the 1980s, China's economy grew at an average annual rate of nearly 10%, and inflation was moderate.The economic growth in some years is only 7%, while in some years the economic growth is close to 15%. The overall trend of economic development is upward.However, even with such rapid growth, China is still a poor country compared to the rest of the world due to its low starting point.It will take many years for China to develop into the ranks of the world's medium-sized countries.Moreover, there are regional differences behind China's overall economic data.While the new special economic zones are prospering and growing rapidly, many provinces in the west and inland are not doing as well as they would like.

During these years, Deng Xiaoping took a "crossing the river by feeling the stones" approach, being flexible and not clinging to tradition.At the same time, Deng Xiaoping also put forward the concept of "one country, two systems". The main body of the country implements the socialist system and insists on the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China; Play a leading role.There is only one China in the world, and China has only one government, but two different systems can coexist.This idea has extraordinary significance for China's development.Deng Xiaoping was well aware of the difference between the two social systems, but he was a materialist, and he would meet practical needs through planning and other means.It is left to others to discuss and flesh out the content of his thought.

Some people oppose China's wider opening up to the world and the role of market rules in China, while others hope that the pace of opening up will be faster and the scope of opening up will be extended to a wider area of ​​China.Initially most of the discussions were private, but later became public.Intellectuals and poets also joined the discussion.And in special economic zones, millions of people have started small businesses, freed from the shackles of ideology that have prevented change and economic development for decades.Of course, the relaxation of government policies and regulations has also created conditions for people to get rid of their shackles.

At that time, the number of foreign tourists visiting China increased (because few foreign tourists came to China before, so any increase in the number would be considered an increase at that time), and the number of Chinese overseas students also increased sharply.However, in the United States, only academia and, to some extent, intelligence agencies are paying attention to the social changes in China.American academic circles have done a good job in discussing and tracking changes in China. However, they tend to observe China's changes from the perspective of "communism and the Communist Party are bad, and democracy and the market are good."Intelligence agencies focus mainly on the number of Chinese troops and missiles, and predict whether China will use force against Taiwan.

For the past 150 years, China had endured civil wars and foreign invasions, and Deng Xiaoping was determined to end this destructive cycle and end China's history of hovering outside the core of the world.He reiterated the need to persist in reform, determined to speed up the pace of reform, expand the scope of reform, enhance the effectiveness of reform, and rapidly improve the material living standards of more people.Deng Xiaoping always emphasized, "We must not give up eating because of choking", and we must continue to adhere to the development path of the 1980s. Deng Xiaoping was willing to accept a market economy and open to the outside world, and believed that this had nothing to do with ideology.Before, when he found that some members of the party were distressed by some of the policies under discussion, he had said that it doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it is a good cat.For Deng Xiaoping, the outcome of China's steady development was the most important, and his goal was always to make China better under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.To achieve this goal, the people must enjoy the pleasant life brought by material prosperity.Deng Xiaoping was far-sighted. He understood that as the economies of Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and other neighboring Asian countries continued to develop and people's lives became more prosperous, if the Chinese people could not see the prospect of prosperity, it would be impossible to maintain social stability.