A RACE TO THE FUTURE

China transforms in 40 years of reform and opening up

IThe author is vice president of China/asia Pacific strategy and global digital practices at consulting firm Tompkins International t may be the transformation of the Pudong district of Shanghai from farmland to a futuristic mega-city. Or it may be the metamorphosis of Shenzhen from a fishing village to a hub of technology and innovation growing to a population of 12 million. Perhaps it is the emergence of Beijing as the capitol of capital for the second largest economy in the world.

From a purely human level, it could be the rise of hundreds of millions of people from abject poverty to working and middleclass living standards. Or it could be the release of pent-up entrepreneurial energy and brilliance.

It may be a society that is wired, connected, digital and fast moving.

Or maybe it’s the fact that farmers and villagers in the most rural and remote villages across the country can, and do, sell their goods to the world via online marketplaces like Taobao and Jd.com via smartphones.

The question is: What best symbolizes China’s re-emergence as a prosperous world power during the course of 40 years of reform and opening up?

The answer is: All of the above and so much more.

A successful path

I don’t think there is anyone, inside or outside of China, who could credibly claim that they foresaw the size, scale, depth and breadth of China’s transformation in less than half a century.

The task of summarizing, looking back and reflecting on what has happened in China between 1978 and 2018 is an almost impossible task for any one observer, and certainly in any one small article. The hundreds of volumes of text that have been, and will be, written on the subject are a good start.

The story of China’s development over the last 40 years is one of—if not the most—fascinating, complex and consequential stories of the late 20th and early 21st century. Reform and opening up was not the result of a single decision, a single person, a single meeting or a single master plan. It was also not a single event launched at a single moment in time with a linear series of predictable and ordained outcomes.

Rather, reform and opening up is a story that necessitated debate, compromise, experimentation, adjustments, false starts, detours, successes and long-term commitments by the government and the people, which have led to what any impartial observer would define as a successful path to transforming the lives of 20 percent of humanity.

It is important to note that some of the great success stories of the era have also created challenges and downsides to be overcome. These include the challenges China faces in taking a positive and active role within the global community, addressing pollution and sustainability, and the transition to a consumption, service and innovation-led economy.

After the 100 years of humiliation and resistance wars in the first half of the 20th century that led to the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the country embarked, under the leadership of Chairman Mao Zedong, on a program of modernization and nation building.

There were certainly some great achievements and a number of prominent setbacks in the period between 1949 and 1979, but it became clear that China could not meet all the challenges of modernization, economic growth and advancement without something changing.

The most important outcome of the changes and new endeavors undertaken in the last 40 years has first and foremost pro- duced a profound transformation in the lives of Chinese citizens, as reform and opening up was imagined. Some 700 million human beings were lifted out of poverty.

The greatest success of the reform and opening-up era is that the vast majority of Chinese now enjoy a standard of living, economic security and modernity almost unimaginable in the past.

In addressing the 40th anniversary celebration on December 18 in Beijing, President Xi Jinping highlighted some of the landmark accomplishments of reform and opening up. He noted, “China has bid farewell to the problems that plagued its people for thousands of years, including hunger, shortages and poverty.”

While the project to fully eliminate these plagues is not complete, there is no arguing that these issues have moved from the norm to the exception. The alleviation of human want and suffering in China has no parallel in scale or scope in history.

A re-emergence

China emerged from the ashes of World War II and a civil war as a newly whole, independent and confident nation, though it would take time for the country to fully re-establish itself on the world stage.

An oft-repeated statement and way of thinking in many parts of the world, but especially in the West, is that China has, over the last 40 years, emerged as a world power, economic growth engine, cultural force and military giant.

The truth is, however, that China has reemerged in this position. China was in many ways out-developed by the West during the 16th-20th centuries. Notwithstanding this fact, China maintained a grip on economic, trade, scientific and cultural power through the 19th century.

During the last 100 years, China has had to focus first on establishing a new China, and then a new new China, requiring a focus on internal development.

Reform and opening up was the vehicle by which China was able to start focusing on