Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China EZRA F. VOGEL THE BELKNAP PRESS OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England 2011 Copyright o 201l by Ezra F. Vogel All rights reserved Printed in the united states of america Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Vogel, Ezra F. Deng Xiaoping and the transformation of China/Ezra F. Vogel. p. cl. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN978-0-674-05544-5 1. Deng, Xiaoping, 1904-1997. 2. Heads of state-China--Biography 3. China-Politics and government-1976-2002. I. Titl DS778.T39V642011 ISBN 978-0-674-06283-2(electronic
1 Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China EZRA F. VOGEL THE BELKNAP PRESS OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England 2011 Copyright © 2011 by Ezra F. Vogel All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Vogel, Ezra F. Deng Xiaoping and the transformation of China / Ezra F. Vogel. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-674-05544-5 1. Deng, Xiaoping, 1904–1997. 2. Heads of state—China—Biography. 3. China—Politics and government—1976–2002. I. Title. DS778.T39V64 2011 951.05092—dc22 [B] 2011006925 ISBN 978-0-674-06283-2 (electronic)
Contents Map: China in the 1980s Preface: In Search of Deng Introduction The man and his mission Dengs Background 1. From Revolutionary to Builder to Reformer, 1904-1969 Deng's Tortuous Road to the Top 1969-1977 2. Banishment and Return. 1969-1974 3. Bringing Order under Mao 1974-1975 4. Looking Forward under Mao. 1975 5. Sidelined as the mao Era Ends. 1976 6. Return under Hua. 1977-1978 Creating the Deng era, 1978-1980 7. Three Turning Points, 1978 8. Setting the Limits of Freedom, 1978-1979 9. The Soviet-Vietnamese Threat. 1978-1979 10. Opening to Japan, 1978 11. Opening to the United States, 1978-1979 12. Launching the deng administration. 1979-1980 The Deng era, 1978-1989 13. Deng's art of governing Experiments in Guangdong and Fujian, 1979-1984 15. Economic Readjustment and Rural Reform, 1978-1982 16. Accelerating Economic Growth and Opening, 1982-1989 17. One Country, Two Systems: Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Tibet 18. The Military: Preparing for Modernization 19. The Ebb and Flow of politics Challenges to the deng era, 1989-1992
2 Contents Map: China in the 1980s Preface: In Search of Deng Introduction: The Man and His Mission Deng's Background 1. From Revolutionary to Builder to Reformer, 1904–1969 Deng's Tortuous Road to the Top, 1969–1977 2. Banishment and Return, 1969–1974 3. Bringing Order under Mao, 1974–1975 4. Looking Forward under Mao, 1975 5. Sidelined as the Mao Era Ends, 1976 6. Return under Hua, 1977–1978 Creating the Deng Era, 1978–1980 7. Three Turning Points, 1978 8. Setting the Limits of Freedom, 1978–1979 9. The Soviet-Vietnamese Threat, 1978–1979 10. Opening to Japan, 1978 11. Opening to the United States, 1978–1979 12. Launching the Deng Administration, 1979–1980 The Deng Era, 1978–1989 13. Deng's Art of Governing 14. Experiments in Guangdong and Fujian, 1979–1984 15. Economic Readjustment and Rural Reform, 1978–1982 16. Accelerating Economic Growth and Opening, 1982–1989 17. One Country, Two Systems: Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Tibet 18. The Military: Preparing for Modernization 19. The Ebb and Flow of Politics Challenges to the Deng Era, 1989–1992
20. Beijing Spring, April 15-May 17, 1989 21. The Tiananmen Tragedy, May 17-June 4, 1989 22. Standing Firm 1989-1992 23 Dengs Finale: The Southern Journey, 1992 Dengs Place in History 24 China Transformed Key People in the Deng era Chinese Communist Party Congresses and Plenums, 1956-1992 Abbreviations Index China Transformed When Deng stepped aside in 1992 he had fulfilled the mission that had eluded China,s people and strengthen the country. But in the process of ay to enrich the leaders for 150 years: he and his colleagues had found a way to enrich the Chinese presided over a fundamental transformation of China itself-the nature of its relation with the outside world, its governance system, and its society. After Deng stepped down, China continued to change rapidly, but the basic structural changes developed under Deng's leadership have already continued for two decades, and with some adaptations, they may extend long into the future. Indeed, the structural changes that took place under Deng,s leadership rank among the most basic changes since the Chinese empire took shape during the han dynasty over two millennia ago The transformation that took place in the Deng era was shaped by the highly developed Chinese tradition, by the scale and diversity of Chinese society, by the nature of world institutions at the time, by the openness of the global system to sharing its technology and management skills, by the nature of the Chinese Communist Party, and by the contributions of large numbers of creative and hard-working people. But it occurred at a time of transition, in which the top leader was granted considerable freedom by others to guide the political process and make final decisions. And it was shaped by the role that leader, Deng Xiaoping, personally played. To be sure, the ideas underlying this sea change came from many people, and
3 20. Beijing Spring, April 15–May 17, 1989 21. The Tiananmen Tragedy, May 17–June 4, 1989 22. Standing Firm, 1989–1992 23. Deng's Finale: The Southern Journey, 1992 Deng's Place in History 24. China Transformed Key People in the Deng Era Chinese Communist Party Congresses and Plenums, 1956–1992 Abbreviations Notes Index China Transformed When Deng stepped aside in 1992 he had fulfilled the mission that had eluded China's leaders for 150 years: he and his colleagues had found a way to enrich the Chinese people and strengthen the country. But in the process of achieving this goal, Deng presided over a fundamental transformation of China itself—the nature of its relation with the outside world, its governance system, and its society. After Deng stepped down, China continued to change rapidly, but the basic structural changes developed under Deng's leadership have already continued for two decades, and with some adaptations, they may extend long into the future. Indeed, the structural changes that took place under Deng's leadership rank among the most basic changes since the Chinese empire took shape during the Han dynasty over two millennia ago. The transformation that took place in the Deng era was shaped by the highly developed Chinese tradition, by the scale and diversity of Chinese society, by the nature of world institutions at the time, by the openness of the global system to sharing its technology and management skills, by the nature of the Chinese Communist Party, and by the contributions of large numbers of creative and hard-working people. But it occurred at a time of transition, in which the top leader was granted considerable freedom by others to guide the political process and make final decisions. And it was shaped by the role that leader, Deng Xiaoping, personally played. To be sure, the ideas underlying this sea change came from many people, and
no one fully anticipated how events would play out. Deng did not start reform and opening; they began under Hua Guofeng before Deng came to power. Nor was Deng the architect with a grand design for the changes that would take place under his rule there was in fact no clear overall design in place during this era Rather, Deng was the general manager who provided overall leadership during the transformation. He helped package the ideas and present them to his team of colleagues and to the public at a pace and in a way they could accept. He provided a steady hand at the top that gave people confidence as they underwent dramatic changes. He played a role in selecting and guiding the team that worked together to create and implement the reforms. He was a problem-solver who tried to devise solutions that would work for the various parties involved both within China and in foreign countries. He helped foster a strong governing structure that could stay in control even as the Chinese people struggled to adapt to the new and rapidly evolving situation on the ground. He played a leading part in guiding the process of setting priorities and creating strategies to realize the most important goals. He explained the policies to the public in a straightforward way by describing the overall situation they faced and then what concrete measures were needed to respond when controversies arose, he played a major role in making the final decisions and managed the pre so as to minimize cleavages that would tear the country apart. He supported the effort to provide incentives and to offer hope based on realistic enough goals that people were not later sorely disappointed. He supported the effort to give enough freedom to specialists-scientists, economists, managers, and intellectuals--so they could do their work, but placed limits on their freedom when he feared that the fragile social order might be undone. And he played a central role in improving relations with other major countries and in forming workable relationships with their leaders. In all of his work, Deng was guided by his deep conviction that employing the worlds most modern practices in science and technology, and most effective management techniques, would lead to the greatest progress for China-and that the disruptions that occurred from grafting these practices and techniques onto a Chinese system were manageable and worth it for the Chinese people as a whole It is difficult for those in China and abroad who became adults after Deng stepped down to realize the enormity of the problems deng faced as he began this journey:a country closed to fundamentally new ways of thinking; deep rifts between those who had been attacked during the Cultural Revolution and their attackers; proud military leaders who were resistant to downsizing and budget reductions; public animosity toward imperialists and foreign capitalists; an entrenched, conservative socialist structure in both the countryside and the cities, a reluctance by urban residents to accept over 200 million migrants from the countryside; and dissension as some people continued to live in poverty while others became rich But Deng also had enormous advantages as he assumed responsibility for the overall management of China's transformation. He took over a functioning national arty and government in a country that Mao had unified. He had many experienced senior officials who shared his view that deep changes were needed. He came to
4 no one fully anticipated how events would play out. Deng did not start reform and opening; they began under Hua Guofeng before Deng came to power. Nor was Deng the architect with a grand design for the changes that would take place under his rule; there was in fact no clear overall design in place during this era. Rather, Deng was the general manager who provided overall leadership during the transformation. He helped package the ideas and present them to his team of colleagues and to the public at a pace and in a way they could accept. He provided a steady hand at the top that gave people confidence as they underwent dramatic changes. He played a role in selecting and guiding the team that worked together to create and implement the reforms. He was a problem-solver who tried to devise solutions that would work for the various parties involved both within China and in foreign countries. He helped foster a strong governing structure that could stay in control even as the Chinese people struggled to adapt to the new and rapidly evolving situation on the ground. He played a leading part in guiding the process of setting priorities and creating strategies to realize the most important goals. He explained the policies to the public in a straightforward way by describing the overall situation they faced and then what concrete measures were needed to respond. When controversies arose, he played a major role in making the final decisions and managed the process so as to minimize cleavages that would tear the country apart. He supported the effort to provide incentives and to offer hope based on realistic enough goals that people were not later sorely disappointed. He supported the effort to give enough freedom to specialists—scientists, economists, managers, and intellectuals—so they could do their work, but placed limits on their freedom when he feared that the fragile social order might be undone. And he played a central role in improving relations with other major countries and in forming workable relationships with their leaders. In all of his work, Deng was guided by his deep conviction that employing the world's most modern practices in science and technology, and most effective management techniques, would lead to the greatest progress for China—and that the disruptions that occurred from grafting these practices and techniques onto a Chinese system were manageable and worth it for the Chinese people as a whole. It is difficult for those in China and abroad who became adults after Deng stepped down to realize the enormity of the problems Deng faced as he began this journey: a country closed to fundamentally new ways of thinking; deep rifts between those who had been attacked during the Cultural Revolution and their attackers; proud military leaders who were resistant to downsizing and budget reductions; public animosity toward imperialists and foreign capitalists; an entrenched, conservative socialist structure in both the countryside and the cities; a reluctance by urban residents to accept over 200 million migrants from the countryside; and dissension as some people continued to live in poverty while others became rich. But Deng also had enormous advantages as he assumed responsibility for the overall management of China's transformation. He took over a functioning national party and government in a country that Mao had unified. He had many experienced senior officials who shared his view that deep changes were needed. He came to
power when there was an open world trading system and other countries were willing to share their capital, technology, and management skills and to welcome China into international institutions Deng also had an impressive array of personal qualities that enabled him to guide China's transformation It is doubtful that anyone else then had the combination of authority, depth and breadth of experience, strategic sense, assurance, personal relationships, and political judgment needed to manage China s transformation with comparable success. What, then, is the nature of the transformation that Deng helped guide? From the Center of Asian Civilization to a single nation of the world During imperial times, China was never a global power or even an active participant in global affairs. It was a regional Asian power. In the"Chinese world order"that guided China's relations with other countries before the Opium War, the smaller political entities around China's periphery paid ceremonial tribute to the emperor of the"Central Kingdom, " China. These other political entities thereby acknowledged the superiority of Chinese civilization over the surrounding areas. In exchange, China agreed that these political entities outside China could remain autonomous and live in Rarely did a Chinese emperor take any interest in extending China s reach beyond the Asian mainland. For a brief time during the fifteenth century, Chinese emperors did allow the construction of oceangoing vessels, and Admiral Zheng He led seven voyages overseas that stretched as far as the middle east and the east coast of Africa But subsequent emperors not only prohibited such lengthy voyages; they also prevented the building of oceangoing vessels. For them it was difficult enough to manage affairs within China's long borders without linking China to lands beyond its shores. In 1793, when the British envoy Lord McCartney arrived in China and proposed the opening of trade, Emperor Qianlong famously replied, "We possess all thingsI.have no use for your manufactures. 2 Later, after the Opium Wars of 1839-1842 and 1856-1860, European powers forced China to grant them access to a number of ports along the coast, but the Chinese government took virtually no initiative to extend its reach beyond its land borders in Asia. China as a nation did not adapt effectively to the challenge as the Industrial Revolution brought new power to Western nations. Because of China's weak response, stronger imperialist powers from the West dominated relations with China and even dominated industry and trade along the china coast Mao, at the time of the Korean War, ended the role of imperialists by closing the country to contact with the West. After that time, China began to play a role in the Communist world and for a brief time in the 1950s and 1060s played a part in the affairs of the third world. Its role in the Communist world greatly declined after it broke off relations with the soviet Union in 1960. Before 1978 the Chinese
5 power when there was an open world trading system and other countries were willing to share their capital, technology, and management skills and to welcome China into international institutions. Deng also had an impressive array of personal qualities that enabled him to guide China's transformation. It is doubtful that anyone else then had the combination of authority, depth and breadth of experience, strategic sense, assurance, personal relationships, and political judgment needed to manage China's transformation with comparable success. What, then, is the nature of the transformation that Deng helped guide? From the Center of Asian Civilization to a Single Nation of the World During imperial times, China was never a global power or even an active participant in global affairs. It was a regional Asian power. In the ―Chinese world order‖ that guided China's relations with other countries before the Opium War, the smaller political entities around China's periphery paid ceremonial tribute to the emperor of the ―Central Kingdom,‖ China. These other political entities thereby acknowledged the superiority of Chinese civilization over the surrounding areas. In exchange, China agreed that these political entities outside China could remain autonomous and live in peace.1 Rarely did a Chinese emperor take any interest in extending China's reach beyond the Asian mainland. For a brief time during the fifteenth century, Chinese emperors did allow the construction of oceangoing vessels, and Admiral Zheng He led seven voyages overseas that stretched as far as the Middle East and the east coast of Africa. But subsequent emperors not only prohibited such lengthy voyages; they also prevented the building of oceangoing vessels. For them it was difficult enough to manage affairs within China's long borders without linking China to lands beyond its shores. In 1793, when the British envoy Lord McCartney arrived in China and proposed the opening of trade, Emperor Qianlong famously replied, ―We possess all things. I . . . have no use for your manufactures.‖2 Later, after the Opium Wars of 1839–1842 and 1856–1860, European powers forced China to grant them access to a number of ports along the coast, but the Chinese government took virtually no initiative to extend its reach beyond its land borders in Asia. China as a nation did not adapt effectively to the challenge as the Industrial Revolution brought new power to Western nations. Because of China's weak response, stronger imperialist powers from the West dominated relations with China and even dominated industry and trade along the China coast. Mao, at the time of the Korean War, ended the role of imperialists by closing the country to contact with the West. After that time, China began to play a role in the Communist world and for a brief time in the 1950s and 1060s played a part in the affairs of the third world. Its role in the Communist world greatly declined after it broke off relations with the Soviet Union in 1960. Before 1978 the Chinese