The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the CPC honors China’s crucial choice in 1978 toward implementing reform and opening up policies. Since that historic date the country has experienced unprecedented changes.

2008 is China's 30th anniversary of the reform and opening up. Looking back upon the past 30 years clearly reveals that great achievements have been made in many areas, with China’s economy resting foremost in everyone’s eyes. But significantly, the Chinese people have emancipated their minds and updated their ideas as well. Chinese reforms have deepened gradually, with reforms complementing the opening-up policies.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary, our site will offer articles featuring both nostalgic and in-depth analysis covering the reforms and opening-up, with all of them geared toward learning from the past and understanding China’s future.

Chinese reform has been rocky at times because the nature of reform always requires readjustments in the laws of social development. Old ideas and systems have been abolished and new ones established. At times citizens have criticized the reforms, especially when the process did not move forward smoothly. But the vast majority feels, after prolonged ideological discussions, that China should stick to its reforms: they have brought benefits and happiness to the masses, as well as confidence and hope. Ultimately practice is always the sole criterion for testing truth.

As Chinese economic systems continue to evolve many changes have also been enacted in our societal structure. Unresolved problems and contradictions unfortunately have also appeared with reforms going in depth. China must face and address such issues and problems in order to achieve modernization. How will our leaders overcome this developmental bottleneck? The answers may lie in reviewing and summarizing the past.

(China.org.cn October 27, 2008)