Eight Characters in Search of a Strategy

Abstract

Since the Chinese leadership's decision in the early 1970s to pursue an extensive program of economic modernization, major political economic reforms have been anticipated. Reforms are not without precedent, as readjustments were implemented during the late 1950s and in the early 1960s after the Great Leap Forward. In 1975, building on the experiences of the earlier periods, then Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping proposed an extensive program of political economic reforms known as the Twenty Points. Implementation of his proposals was delayed by the succession struggles in 1976, during which Deng was deposed and his program severely criticized. The passing of Chairman Mao from the political scene set the stage for the reintroduction of reforms. Creating a new leadership consensus incorporating the goals and techniques of modernization was the first step. A neo-Maoist faction led by Hua Guofeng and a more pragmatic faction led by Deng Xiaoping generally agreed on the priorities of modernization: agriculture and light industry, science and technology, heavy industry and national defense. They also agreed on the need for some ideological liberalization in the fields of education, science and technology, and economic management in order to foster innovation. The consensus was summarized in the eight-character slogan of readjustment, consolidation, filling out, and improvement.