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40 years of reform and opening up

Former US trade representative Charlene Barshefsky blames Beijing’s deviation from market principles and inaction by previous US administrations for helping to lead to the current impasse. Photo: Xinyan Yu

Exclusive | Ex-US top trade negotiator says China has deviated from its commitments

Inaction by previous US administrations also helped lay the groundwork for the impasse, Barshefsky says.

Opinion | Xi’s China is ignoring the US role in its rise to glory

Opinion | How China dispelled the 3 myths of economic growth

SCMP The Interview: Wong Cho-lam

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SCMP The Interview: Liza Wang

The View | China’s development model has lessons to teach, but is anyone listening?

Insights into the Chinese development experience may prove useful for developing economies, but many are too wary of its intentions and influence to be receptive. Both Beijing and the West have contributed to the hostility.

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China Briefing | Cheer up, crises like the US trade war reform China’s economy

In 1998, China paved the way to economic lift off with World Trade Organisation talks. In 2008, it beat the Global Financial Crisis. So in 2018, on its 40th anniversary of reform and opening up, it’s at a familiar juncture

It might not seem like it, but there could be something to smile about regarding the US-China trade war. Photo: Xinhua

Opinion | Even after 40 years, China can still learn from Singapore

The city state, a key role model for a modernising China, remains far ahead in social development and governance and continues to have lessons to share.

This is what Xi says can help save China from ‘terrifying tidal waves’

Communist Party rule is key to weathering ‘unimaginable’ perils and dangers, according to the Chinese president. But his one-and-a-half hour speech sheds little light on future reforms, to the chagrin of those wanting economic liberalisation, and doesn’t mention US trade war or slowing economy.

Opinion | Lessons of past point way ahead for Xi Jinping as opening up goes on

In his speech marking 40 years of reform, China’s president outlined a two-front approach to the challenges facing the country and the qualities needed to overcome difficulties.

Opinion | How can China’s reforms succeed when officials act like overbearing parents?

The ‘we-know-best’ mentality prevents market forces from playing a decisive role and affects investor confidence.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens

Opinion | Can China build 2-way bridges with Global South partners?

Luban workshops teaching practical skills can shine where Confucius Institutes failed if they truly enable mutual exchanges.

Opinion | Why China’s GDP growth needs to be read against its social contract

Economic development and sustainability are both part of the contract and one cannot come at the expense of the other.

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Editorial | A modern, powerful China the legacy of Deng Xiaoping, born 120 years ago

Paramount leader launched country on reform path that transformed nation from among the world’s least developed to a global force.

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A bronze statue of Deng Xiaoping in Lianhuashan Park in Shenzhen. Deng championed reforms with a dogged pragmatism and a willingness to be flexible that amazed many, including in the West. Photo: Shutterstock

Opinion | China’s third plenum shows its reform era has entered a new phase

As China strives to build a “high-level socialist market economy”, expect the central government to build on the reforms of past decades.

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People riding bicycles and electric scooters wait at a traffic light in Beijing, on July 18 as the Communist Party of China’s third plenum draws to a close. Photo: EPA-EFE

Opinion | What China watchers should know about where the country is headed

The reforms outlined in the third plenum sets the groundwork for deepening efforts such as poverty alleviation to sustainable development.

Opinion | The era of the entrepreneurial Chinese local government is over

Local governments, so crucial to China’s economic take-off, have arguably become the biggest drag on the economy and must now be reined in.

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Opinion | Beware the upshot of China’s graduates flocking to the public sector

The increase of politics and law majors could trigger a private-sector brain drain, jeopardising China’s science and technology ambitions.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens

As calls for Chinese rural land reform get louder, will Beijing remain cautious?

Major market reform has bypassed rural land ownership, but experts say not to expect any big moves at the third plenum.

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Opinion | Why Nongfu Spring’s online attackers are no Chinese patriots

Claims of Nongfu Spring being pro-Japanese are risible and attacks on the drinks company and its founder Zhong Shanshan only damage the country and its economy. The company should be celebrated, not pilloried.

China’s economic reforms cannot become a ‘wasted opportunity’, state media warns

‘Inaction and slackness’ at local levels of government are seen as potential threats to Beijing’s revitalisation vision ahead of the Communist Party’s delayed third plenum gathering.

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China is trying to turn its economic fortunes around with reform efforts. Photo: Reuters

My Take | China must stop chipping away at Deng Xiaoping’s economic legacy

Twenty-seven years have passed since the death of China’s reformist leader Deng Xiaoping, but it seems that today there are different interpretations of his legacy – a worrying and disappointing development.

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A girl holds a Chinese flag as visitors are seen in the background at the Temple of Heaven during celebrations of Chinese New Year in Beijing, February 14, 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE

The View | How Zhu Rongji’s bold approach can inspire China’s economic reform

Pledges of reform from a decade ago have been unfulfilled or unevenly implemented, leaving China’s economy struggling to reach its full potential. Leaders should look to the legacy of Zhu Rongji, who embraced bold but unpopular reforms to improve people’s well-being.

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China’s growth rests on realising decade-old reform goals, economist says

Prominent pro-market researcher Chi Fulin says China has fallen short of various targets, including capital account convertibility, set in 2013.

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In Li Keqiang’s heartland, floral tributes for China’s former premier

The public come out in person to lay flowers over the weekend at Li’s childhood home and key places in his career.

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People gather near a residential house where the late former Chinese premier Li Keqiang spent his childhood in Hefei, Anhui province, on Saturday. Photo: Kyodo

Opinion | China is losing sight of the 3 things it needs to keep opening up

The ‘reform and opening up’ started under Deng Xiaoping was about both economic and spiritual liberalisation, but policy regression could derail those efforts.

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A man with a bike-share rental sitting in front of a poster of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in Shenzhen on November 8, 2018. Photo: AFP

Opinion | ‘Capital’ is still a dirty word in China – it shouldn’t be

Despite its role in supporting China’s economic boom, private capital still carries a whiff of notoriety in the country.

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Opinion | Xi’s focus on security punctures decades of China optimism

With a shrinking working-age population, China needs an acceleration in productivity growth to reclaim its mantle as the world’s greatest growth story, but the Chinese leader has not delivered on the promise of a rebalanced economy.

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40 years of reform and opening up
The latest news, analysis and opinion on 40 years of reform and opening up. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
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China’s pledge to support foreign investors isn’t very convincing, survey finds

As the world’s second-largest economy moves toward self-sufficiency, concerns are rising that inward-looking priorities could undermine Beijing’s commitment to open up, while foreign investors feel neglected.

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China has several economic-development zones, including in Shandong province where this textile enterprise operates, and they have long served to bolster foreign direct investment in the country. Photo: Getty Images
China has several economic-development zones, including in Shandong province where this textile enterprise operates, and they have long served to bolster foreign direct investment in the country. Photo: Getty Images

Opinion | A China closed off from the rest of the world is a loss to everyone

The days of China’s rise driving international forums, meetings and events bringing people together from all over the globe seem like a distant memory. The growing gap between China and other countries is a loss for everyone involved, the world as a whole and the future of multilateralism.

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China’s progress on market reform remains ‘stagnated’, report finds

But despite China’s ‘weaker and more fragile economy’, its openness to trade has been outperforming that of large developed economies, according to the latest China Pathfinder assessment.

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The View | Return to focus on ideology leaves China’s economic growth lagging behind

China’s slowdown is being driven by a structural transformation of the economy, payback for past excesses and a shift in the ideological underpinnings of governance. Xi Jinping is prepared to forgo growth to cement political power and pursue his dream of national rejuvenation.

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A visitor walks in front of pictures of President Xi Jinping at the Museum of the Communist Party in Beijing. Photo: EPA-EFE

As Beijing tries to allay small-business fears, is it enough to ease minds?

‘Do not believe nor circulate’ attempts to question China’s basic economic system, China’s CPPCC chairman tells representatives of business communities at ‘two sessions’ gathering.

China’s smallest businesses, most of which are privately owned, were failing at a historic pace last year. Photo: Getty Images
China’s smallest businesses, most of which are privately owned, were failing at a historic pace last year. Photo: Getty Images

How China is reversing cultural openness with the West

In the decade or since Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics, the country’s relationship with developed economies has descended into antagonism and confrontation.

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China’s Shenzhen plans will transform Greater Bay Area, including Hong Kong

Shenzhen has been the nation’s shining beacon of reform and opening-up for decades, and new guidelines released this week show it will continue to be for years to come.

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Opinion | Even amid deglobalisation, China holds the advantage over America

If barriers to migration grow high enough, populous countries will outpace smaller ones in innovation, even the richer ones. If China makes the most of this advantage, the US will find it all but impossible to hamper its economic progress.

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An employee inspects solar photovoltaic modules at a factory in Haian, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, on November 15. Photo: AFP