China put in motion one of the great economic revolutions in modern history 40 years ago.
Behind the economic success stories are people. It was Deng Xiaoping who instigated the policy switch in 1978, and backed by the workers, policymakers and business leaders it has developed into a historic upsurge that President Xi Jinping has pushed higher with a shift from high-speed growth to high-quality development and an ever more open economy.
The 40-year approach has been incremental, slowly opening up to competition while welcoming foreign investment through special economic zones. Since Xi took office, a new set of initiatives have extended supply side structural change and further widened the door to reform with new free trade zones and the Xiongan New Area.
1978 China launches reform and opening up
The benefits have been felt inside China and around the world: China's share of the global economy jumped from under 2 percent in 1978 to over 18 percent in 2017. Multilateralism is been championed, China plays an ever greater role in the World Trade Organization, and the Belt and Road Initiative is helping to bring the world closer together.
Such dramatic economic change has had momentous consequences for Chinese society, helping create an environment in which incomes have risen, poverty has plummeted and entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation have started to flourish with a new focus on technology and the industries of the future.
Driving a technological revolution has been central to the reform policies of recent years, and China's innovative industries have been at the forefront of diversifying and modernizing the economy – continuing for the new era the principles outlined four decades ago.
