IB History Economic and Social Transformations and Challenges Key Definitions

Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997) was the paramount leader of China from 1978 to 1992 and the architect of China's economic reform programme. He was twice purged during the Cultural Revolution but returned to power after Mao's death. Deng introduced the Four Modernizations (agriculture, industry, defence, science/technology), Special Economic Zones, and the "opening up" of China to foreign investment, while maintaining CCP political monopoly. He authorised the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989. His reforms produced approximately three decades of ~10% annual GDP growth.

The term used in China for rural-to-urban migrants who live and work in cities without formal urban hukou registration. The floating population grew from around 30 million in 1990 to an estimated 290-380 million by 2020, forming the backbone of China's manufacturing and construction workforce. Because they lack urban hukou, floating population migrants are often denied access to public schools, hospitals, and social insurance in their city of residence.

The Four Modernizations were the reform programme introduced by Deng Xiaoping from 1978, targeting four sectors: agriculture, industry, national defence, and science and technology. They reversed Maoist economic policies, decollectivised agriculture, opened China to foreign investment, and prioritised technological development. The programme is considered the foundation of China's economic transformation from a command economy to a "socialist market economy."

A demographic consequence of the One-Child Policy combined with traditional preference for male children. Sex-selective abortions and female infanticide led to a significant imbalance in the male-to-female ratio among births: by 2005, China recorded approximately 120 male births per 100 female births. This produced a generation of surplus males (termed "bare branches") and a shortage of women of marriageable age, with long-term social and economic consequences. The One-Child Policy was relaxed to two children in 2015 and three in 2021.

The Household Responsibility System (also called the "production responsibility system") was the agricultural reform introduced in China from 1978, replacing collectivised commune farming. Individual farm households were allocated plots of land from the commune and allowed to sell surplus production on the market after meeting a state quota. Output rose dramatically in the early 1980s. The system effectively ended collective agriculture in China, though the land itself remained state-owned.

China's household registration system, introduced in 1958, which ties citizens' access to public services (schools, hospitals, welfare benefits) to their registered place of birth. Citizens registered as rural residents who migrate to cities receive only limited access to urban public services, creating a two-tier system. As of 2020, an estimated 290 million "floating population" migrants lived in cities without full urban hukou status, unable to access healthcare, education, or social security benefits on equal terms with registered urban residents.

The One-Child Policy was a population control programme introduced by the Chinese government in 1980. It restricted most urban couples to one child, with exceptions for rural families, ethnic minorities, and couples where both parents were themselves only children. Enforcement involved fines, loss of employment, and in some cases forced sterilisations or abortions. The policy contributed to a skewed sex ratio (male preference led to female infanticide and selective abortions) and an ageing population. It was relaxed in 2015 to allow two children and ended in 2021.

China's first Special Economic Zone, established in 1980 adjacent to Hong Kong. Shenzhen was designated as an experiment in market economics: foreign investment was welcomed, lower tax rates applied, and export processing was permitted. Shenzhen grew from a fishing village of 30,000 in 1979 to a city of over 10 million by 2010, becoming a global hub for electronics manufacturing. Its success validated Deng Xiaoping's reform strategy and led to the designation of more SEZs along China's coast.

Collectively owned enterprises established in rural China during the 1980s and 1990s by local township and village governments. TVEs operated under market conditions rather than central planning, producing goods for both domestic and export markets. By the 1990s, TVEs employed over 100 million workers and accounted for nearly a third of China's industrial output. They played a critical role in absorbing surplus agricultural labour released by the Household Responsibility System and fuelling China's early economic growth.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organisation that regulates international trade. It was established in 1995 to replace the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). China joined the WTO on 11 December 2001 after 15 years of negotiations. China's accession required significant commitments to reduce tariffs, open markets to foreign goods and services, and protect intellectual property. Membership gave China access to global markets under the WTO's non-discrimination rules, contributing significantly to China's export-led growth in the 2000s.