Chapter 4 southern speech

Looking back at history, we now know that China is taking a modernized economic development path that can achieve national transformation faster and better than people imagined.Of course, at every stage of development along this path, there are other paths to choose from, many of which could lead to radically different outcomes, such as the collapse of the government in the 1990s with the collapse of the Soviet Union.Historians and scholars generally do not articulate history in terms of the consequences of future developments, because this approach leads to selective memory, making outcomes the more important criterion for determining those details and decisions.In China in the 1980s and early 1990s, it was difficult to see the results of future development, and it was difficult to see whether a prosperous market economy would bring unprecedented changes to China.At the time, most people believed that Deng Xiaoping's policies would lead to a more open and prosperous modern communist China, but no one expected Sino-American integration to happen.Through the development trajectory of "Central America", we can see that the path China chooses is more important than the path it does not choose.

In 1992, under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, China accelerated the pace of reform again. In 1990-1991, China's economy took a downturn, and reforms came under fire.In order to support the reform, Deng Xiaoping embarked on the iconic "Southern Tour".During his visits to special economic zones, Deng Xiaoping showed enthusiasm for greater change, emphasizing everywhere he went that making the economy rich was consistent with the goals of the party and the state.The development of Shenzhen, which soon became a metropolis of millions and the backbone of the Pearl River Delta's industrial prosperity, showed that there was no inherent conflict between a market economy and a planned economy.Deng Xiaoping was able to embrace both ideas at the same time, and he had a better interpretation of Chinese society than anyone else.He is willing to accept controllable challenges, and his "Southern Tour" marks that China will boldly take the road of market economy.

In the 1980s, foreign companies took tentative steps to invest and build factories in China.For these companies, looking for business and manufacturing development opportunities in the Pacific Rim is not completely new, because they have invested and built factories in China's Taiwan and Hong Kong for decades.However, in the 1980s, in China, which was undergoing reform, even though preferential policies were given to foreign companies investing and building factories in special economic zones, it was still difficult for foreign companies to do business in China.Private property lacks clear legal protection, and foreign companies cannot establish sole proprietorships in China, only joint ventures with Chinese companies.Foreign companies can invest in China, but they face some problems when transferring funds out of China.

In the 1990s, China lifted many restrictions on foreign and domestic companies.Until those restrictions are lifted, the Chinese will have to go through complicated procedures if they want to legally open a factory larger than a cottage workshop.Banks cannot lend to private companies, and private companies can only employ a small number of employees.Although the number of small enterprises has reached tens of thousands, the limited scale of enterprises still restricts their development.Some party members have established a real economy. Will the companies they start face closure due to their "capitalist" nature?At the time, "capitalism" was still a disgusting word. In the early 1990s, even though the Chinese government actively supported reforms, people were not allowed to become "capitalists," even though "capitalists" were not strictly defined at the time.Boundaries are blurry, and crossing them is dangerous.

In 1992, the United States was about to enter the era of the Internet revolution, and the European Union was celebrating its development achievements since its establishment. However, even though China has undergone reforms in the past 10 years, its economic development level is still not high.The once glorious old industrial base in Northeast China has declined.Steel, cement, guns, aluminum cans, bicycles and other daily necessities that Chinese people need in life are produced here by large state-owned enterprises.These enterprises have tens of millions of employees, basically do not need to consider market demand in the production process, and the production quota refers to the "five-year plan" formulated by the Party Central Committee. In the early 1990s, in China, a big country with a population of more than 1 billion, cars were still rare, and there were less than 9 million cars in China.Road and rail transportation capacity is insufficient, and transportation between various places is expensive and time-consuming.At that time, as now, energy was mainly supplied by coal.The reserves of the Daqing Oilfield, which once provided sufficient protection for China's oil consumption and exports, have also declined rapidly.

Deng Xiaoping's "Southern Tour" in 1992 once again promoted the development of China's economy. Perhaps no one expected that Chinese society would undergo brand-new changes in the next 15 years.Wherever Deng Xiaoping went, skyscrapers rose from the ground, and a large number of roads, factories, ships, and airports were newly built, and a modern world was presented before people.However, urbanization, environmental pollution and social problems also follow. Statistics detail the tremendous growth of the Chinese economy.The consumption of metals and raw materials such as copper, iron ore, cement, steel, and aluminum is staggering. A large number of large-scale power stations, roads, and airports are newly built. New cities continue to emerge. There are 400 million mobile phone users and 1 billion Internet users.All kinds of data make people feel excited, and after the excitement, they get used to it.The changes that have taken place in China and the speed at which this change has taken place cannot be described in words.This may sound like an exaggeration, but it is the truth. In the face of the great changes in China, language pales in power.Although the old photos of the years cannot bring us a fresh experience, they may be able to provide us with a better interpretation.

Take Pudong, which is across the river from the old city of Shanghai, as an example. In the late 1980s, before the establishment of the Pudong New Area, the planning and layout of Pudong was scattered, with only some simple factories and residential buildings.Today's Pudong has become an iconic symbol that people often mention.The Oriental Pearl TV Tower rises from the ground, not far away is the skyscraper Jin Mao Tower, and a large number of high-tech enterprises gather in Pudong.Every night, the light from the Oriental Pearl Tower reflects on the buildings on the Bund, and the flickering LCD billboards can't help but make people hallucinate, reminiscent of the ever-changing skyscrapers hanging on the streets of Los Angeles in 2014 in the classic sci-fi movie (Blade Runner). A giant screen of images.