Reforms in Contemporary Chinese History

Reforms and Contemporary History

• After Mao's death, the Gang of Four was arrested and held responsible for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution.
• Deng Xiaoping took power in 1978 and instituted large-scale political and economic reforms.
• The CCP loosened governmental control over citizens' personal lives, and communes were gradually disbanded in favor of working contracted to households.
• The Cultural Revolution was rebuked, with millions of its victims being rehabilitated.
• Agricultural collectivization was dismantled and farmlands privatized, while foreign trade became a major new focus, leading to the creation of special economic zones (SEZs).

Economic Reforms

• Inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were restructured, and unprofitable ones were closed outright, resulting in job losses.
• China transitioned from a planned economy to a mixed economy with an increasingly open-market environment.
• China adopted its current constitution on December 4, 1982.

Pro-Democracy Protests and Tiananmen Square Massacre

• In 1989, large pro-democracy protests led to the Tiananmen Square massacre.
• Jiang Zemin replaced Zhao Ziyang as the CCP general secretary, and Zhao was put under house arrest for sympathizing with the protests.

Jiang Zemin's Rule

• Jiang continued economic reforms, further closing many SOEs and massively trimming down "iron rice bowl" occupations.
• During Jiang's rule, China's economy grew sevenfold.
• British Hong Kong and Portuguese Macau returned to China in 1997 and 1999, respectively, as special administrative regions under the principle of one country, two systems.
• China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.

Xi Jinping's Rule

• Xi Jinping succeeded Hu as paramount leader between 2012 and 2013.
• Xi launched a vast anti-corruption crackdown, prosecuting more than 2 million officials by 2022.
• During his tenure, Xi consolidated power unseen since the initiation of economic and political reforms.

Geography of China

• China's landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts in the arid north to the subtropical forests in the wetter south.
• The Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir, and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia.
• The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third- and sixth-longest in the world, respectively, run from the Tibetan Plateau to the densely populated eastern seaboard.
• China's coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 km (9,000 mi) long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China, and South China seas.