US–China normalization opens a new economic channel

The State Council approved the return of a unified entrance examination after a decade in which university admissions had relied heavily on political and workplace recommendations. Millions of...

A Guangming Daily editorial argued that policy should be judged by practical results, helping reopen debate about Mao-era decisions and the role of expertise. The intervention was part of a wider...

Eighteen households in Xiaogang, Anhui, signed a secret agreement to divide collective land use among families and link each household’s rewards to output after meeting state obligations. This local...

In a speech preparing the Third Plenum, Deng urged leaders to emancipate thought, seek truth from facts and use economic methods in managing the economy. He argued for changing relations of production...

The Third Plenum of the Eleventh Central Committee moved the Party’s focus from class struggle to socialist modernization and endorsed reform and opening as the new strategic direction. It marked a...

Higher state purchase prices improved incentives and rural incomes after years in which agricultural surpluses had been mobilized to support industry. The change mattered alongside household...

Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen were designated as pilot zones for foreign investment, export production and institutional experimentation. The zones were not simply free-market enclaves: the...

The National People’s Congress adopted the Law on Chinese-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures. It allowed foreign capital and technical cooperation under Chinese law and state approval, beginning a...

A central decision authorized Guangdong and Fujian to use more flexible economic policies and attract overseas Chinese and foreign investment. The measure combined decentralization with an...

Membership restored access to international financial institutions and development expertise after the People’s Republic had been excluded from their systems. Engagement was selective: Beijing...