IB History Four Modernizations (1978-1997) and Opening Up Policy 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 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."

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.