China Under Reform

In 1976, at the death of its longtime leader Mao Zedong, China was in a state of economic stagnation and social chaos. Mao's radical policies and continual political campaigns, including the disastrous Cultural Revolution, had taken a heavy toll on the Chinese people.

By the end of the decade, however, a more moderate, pragmatic leadership under Deng Xiaoping had come to power and put China on a course to recovery. In the four decades since then, China's economic growth has been nothing…