Monday marks the 21st anniversary of the death of Chinese statesman Deng Xiaoping. Deng has been called "the architect of China's reform and opening-up" for his painstaking efforts in leading the country's modern-day transformation starting in the late 1970s. Meanwhile, this year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up. Now China has become the world's second largest economy. 40 years has witnessed great changes in the country and its contribution to the world economy. Domestically, China's first Special Economic Zone, Shenzhen was transformed from a fishing village to China's gateway to the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, the country has transformed its economic system from a planned economy to a socialist market economy. China became a member of the World Trade Organization in 2001. In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward Belt and Road initiative during his overseas visits. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank which was established in 2015, is a multilateral financial institution initiated by China. And since October 2016, the RMB has been included in the SDR basket as a fifth currency.