The People’s Republic of China at Age 75

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) was born on October 1, 1949. Today, China celebrated its 75th birthday in style (President Xi vows greater national achievements, contributions to humanity’s peace, development). The Chinese are very proud of themselves, as China has been well on her way to claiming the 21st century—China offers a real and the only significant model of prosperity without colonialism, thus ending Western colonialism of the past few hundred years, finally!

Let us examine the PRC from four major perspectives:

The history of the PRC.
The PRC and China.
The PRC and communism.
The PRC and the world.

1. The history of the PRC

The history of the PRC can be simply divided into three periods as follows:.

1949–1976: Mao’s era.
1978–2012: Deng’s era.
2012–Present: Xi’s era.

To briefly highlight each …

1.1 Mao’s era

Mao Zedong unified China in 1949, thus ending China’s century of humiliation. For that alone, Mao should be highly regarded in history. Simply put, there would have been no PRC without Mao!

Unfortunately for China, like many great military leaders in history, Mao was great at winning power [by force], but totally inadequate at governing. As a result, the PRC under him (1949-1976) was nearly a total disaster.

Specifically, Mao made three huge mistakes:

He thoroughly destroyed capitalism in China. As a result, China became dirt poor, so poor that a young man like me (born in 1959) thought of nothing but “getting the hell out of here”. I did that in 1982, as did many who could. For more, read My American Dream Story.
He blindly embraced the Mother Heroine campaign by the USSR after WWII, which encouraged women to have many children. As a result, China’s population ballooned, growing from 540 million in 1949 to 953 million in 1976, on the way to exploding to 1.2 billion by the year 2000, which would be like being a poor family with 10 kids in Africa today – You will never see the light of the day!
He severely damaged China with several political campaigns, such as (1) the Great Leap Forward, which led to the Great Chinese Famine, and (2) the Cultural Revolution, which led to the greatest destruction of a nation’s culture and morality in history.

However, China under Mao did have some significant achievements. Two examples:

Literacy: Read 1949 The Education Revolution Begins in China.
Life expectancy: See chart below.

The increased literacy played a significant role in China’s comeback: China had a reasonably well-educated workforce before Deng’s era began.

1.2 Deng’s era

When Mao died in 1976, China changed fundamentally and significantly thanks to one wise leader: Deng Xiaoping.

Deng was a dictator. But not all dictators are bad for their countries! Deng used his power wisely for the good of his country: He peacefully transformed China, not only economically (i.e., capitalism) but also politically (i.e., “state capitalism”), which has led to China’s overwhelming success over the past few decades. For example, China surpassed America in PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) in 2014 and will almost certainly surpass America in GDP by 2040 (Gross domestic product (GDP): China vs. the US).

What is the secret behind China’s success?

Aside from embracing capitalism, China did two extraordinary things:

Focused on the economy without blindly embracing democracy like the USSR did (Mikhail Gorbachev vs. Deng Xiaoping). Any doubt about the benefits of not rushing to democracy blindly? Compare Russia with China today – China is decades ahead in economic development!
Adopted a one-child policy. Otherwise, China’s population today would likely be doubling its present 1.4 billion. Any doubt about the benefits of population control? Compare India with China today – China is decades ahead in economic development!

Both of the above were highly controversial not only at home but also abroad, especially in the West. However, they proved to be the right things to do for China at the time for one simple reason: survival, idealistic human rights notwithstanding (American “human rights” is a lie)!

The image below offers one prominent example of China’s amazing transformation: Shenzhen from a fishing village to the “city of the future” (aka “China’s Silicon Valley”) because of its hi-tech “everything” (Why retailers everywhere should look to China).

1.3 Xi’s era

Xi became the General Secretary of the CPC (Communist Party of China) in November 2012. Below is an excerpt from my first book (published in December 2012) highlighting Xi’s importance and ranking him at the same level as Deng and Mao.

How has Xi been doing since then?

Very well, overall!

Specifically, two highlights:

In contrast to his predecessor Hu Jintao, who fashioned an off-hand management style, Xi has proven to be a strong man. For example, his anti-corruption campaign has been hugely popular inside China, even though it is sometimes questionable whether he has overdone it as a tool to crush his political opponents.
He has also proven to be a skilled statesman internationally.

Nevertheless, he might have been overly ambitious, especially in his apparent effort to theorize China’s modern-day governance in terms of both Marxism and democracy (American democracy: what is it and what’s wrong with it?).

Finally, let me touch upon a big issue: the removal of the term limit on the Chinese Presidency from the Chinese Constitution …

Is it a big deal?

Yes and no!

No, it is not a big deal if you understand China’s history: a father figure is needed at the top. For more, read What is China, anyway?

Yes, it is a big deal because the Chinese are very worried that Xi may become the next [bad] Mao. This worry is valid but overly pessimistic. It is highly unlikely that Xi can possibly become the bad Mao for many reasons, not the least of which is that he simply can’t match Mao in feat, thus not in defeat either!

For more, read Will Xi become Mao?

2. The PRC and China

China is arguably the greatest country in history. Three main reasons:

China has the longest continuous civilization in history.
Throughout history, great civilizations have come and gone, with one major exception: China – come, almost gone, and come again.
Today, China offers the only significant model of prosperity without colonialism.

China’s comeback happened with the PRC, led by the CPC. In other words, there would have been no modern China without the PRC or the CPC!

Four big questions:

Can China possibly be great without the CPC?
Were Mao’s mistakes inevitable?
What are the major challenges facing China?
Does China have a bright future led by the CPC?

To briefly answer them one by one …

2.1 Can China possibly be great without the CPC?

No! One simple reason: The current Chinese system is surely the best for China. For more, read China’s state capitalism = communism + capitalism.

2.2 Were Mao’s mistakes inevitable?

No! However, given how the CPC won the Chinese Civil War and Mao as an individual, it is understandable why Mao made so many big mistakes from 1949 to 1976. Simply put, he failed in the transition from a military campaign to civil governing.

2.3 What are the major challenges facing China?

China is facing enormous challenges, from demographics to environmental pollution and to the growing inequality between the super-rich and average citizens.

Now, add a big new challenge: Unrelenting US Hostility Toward China.

For more, read Why does America hate China?

2.4 Does China have a bright future under the CPC?

Yes! Three main reasons:

The current Chinese system is undoubtedly the best option for China, although it is far from perfect or ideal.
The Chinese system is perhaps the best available in the world today. For more information, read Toward an Ideal Form of Government.
The CPC has proven to be highly adaptable, which is the key to success for individuals and political systems.

3. The PRC and communism

China has demonstrated that [Chinese] communism works in two phases:

Phase 1: A violent proletarian revolution to overthrow a bourgeois government.
Phase 2: A peaceful evolution to “state capitalism.”

Furthermore, for China at least, the transition from phase 1 to phase 2 was very rough, requiring at least one generation: the revolution’s generation simply did not know how to govern (What is the Chinese Communist Revolution, anyway?)!

Fortunately for China, it has successfully transitioned from phase 1 to phase 2. The image below highlights its current state.

For more, read What is communism, anyway?

4. The PRC and the world

China is finally ending Western colonialism with state capitalism! Specifically, over the past four decades, China has lifted some 800 million people out of poverty without firing a single shot, let alone dropping any bomb, abroad. This is totally unprecedented in history, especially in terms of scale, speed, and peaceful development!

In other words, China is offering the world a real and the only significant model of prosperity without colonialism! The image below highlights the key difference between China and the US.

Three informative readings:

5. Closing

As a Chinese-American, I am happy for China’s comeback and am proud of my Chinese heritage.

To my fellow Americans: do not hate China just because she is better (Why does America hate China?). Instead, meet the competitive challenge!

Now, please sit back and enjoy the video below.