A Work in Progress
In south China’s Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, stand two banyan trees. One was planted by late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping when he visited the city in 1992. The other was planted by President Xi Jinping 30 years later, in December 2012, during his first inspection tour as general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.
The two trees, rooted in the same soil, symbolize the continuity and evolution of China’s process of reform and opening up.
“Think of the small as big and of the few as many. Confront the difficult while it is still easy; accomplish the great task through a series of small acts.” This is part of a quote from the Tao Te Ching, a Taoist classic attributed to the ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi, believed to have been compiled over 2,500 years ago.
On April 1, 2014, Xi quoted this line during his speech at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. It advises managing ambitious projects by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. The words teach us that people should deal with the difficult while it is still easy and the big while it is still small.
In 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee marked the beginning of the country’s reform and openingup era. Faced with the daunting challenges of these reforms, then Chinese leader Deng advocated a cautious approach to change, summarized by the metaphor “crossing the river by feeling the stones.” This method underlined gradual, pragmatic progress, one step at a time.
Reform initially took root in the rural areas before expanding to cities and from pilot zones to encompass the entire country, creating an impressive model that has drawn worldwide attention.
Today, after decades of rapid growth, some aches and pains have started to kick in.
While the people’s aspirations for a better quality of life continue to grow, the country faces issues of unbalanced and inadequate development. Moreover, as China moves closer to the forefront of the global stage, it encounters a new array of challenges. In response, Xi has called for intensified reform and opening-up efforts.
In 2013, the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee marked the start of a new era of comprehensive reform to address these difficulties. The session adopted a resolution on major issues to advance reform and introduced 336 important initiatives spanning the economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological sectors. These measures exemplify how small, people-centered deeds contribute to big, national endeavors.
The year 2024 is vital for further comprehensive reform. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, held from July 15 to 18, focused on broadening the scope of reform and advancing Chinese modernization.
Against a backdrop of complex international and domestic situations, coupled with a new wave of technological revolutions and industrial upgrades, China’s ongoing reform and opening-up program is a work in progress that must tackle big trials, as well as address the needs of the country’s people.
Over the past 46 years, the program has progressed from zero to one, greatly evolving in both scale and complexity. This reform, grounded in practical realities, has helped China navigate its way through rapid transformations. Currently, the country has entered a difficult phase where it intends to achieve even more ambitious goals.
President Xi previously said, “We must be bold and our steps steady. We should confront challenges head-on and focus on solving them. Once you locate the problem, tackle it with unwavering determination.”
Today, a mosaic of reforms sweeps across the nation. Propelled by its historical legacy, the powerful current of China’s reform and opening up in this new era is racing toward the goal of national rejuvenation.