A Third Way

From 1949 to 1978, communist elites held clashing visions of Chinas economic development. Mao Zedong advocated the first way of semi-autarchy characteristic of revolutionary Stalinism (192934), while Zhou Enlai adapted bureaucratic Stalinism (193453) to promote the second way of import substitution industrialization. A Third Way tells the story of Deng Xiaopings experimentation with export-led development inspired by Lenins New Economic Policy and the economic reforms of Eastern Europe and Asia. Having uncovered an extraordinary collection of internal party and government documents, Lawrence Reardon meticulously traces the evolution of the coastal development strategy, starting with special economic zones in 1979 and evolving into the fourteen open coastal cities, the Hainan SEZ, and eventual accession to the global trade regime in 2001. Reardon details how Deng and Zhao Ziyang tackled large-scale smuggling operations, compromised with Chen Yuns conservative views, and overcame Deng Liquns ideological opposition. Although Zhao Ziyang was airbrushed out of official Chinese history after June 4, 1989, Reardon argues that Zhao was the true architect of Chinas opening strategy. A Third Way provides important new insights about the crucial period of the 1980s and how it paved the way for Chinas transformation into a global economic superpower.