Can China Boom 40 More Years? Those Who Lived It Aren’t Sure
- Mixed feelings on economic reform as Xi preps for anniversary
- Trade war with U.S., growing wealth gap cloud outlook for some
Your opinion about China’s the next 40 years of “reform and opening up” has a lot to do with how much you benefited from the first 40. A cross section of citizens -- young and old, rich and poor, working and retired -- shared divergent views on the policy ahead of President Xi Jinping’s speech marking its four-decade anniversary. The celebration kicks off at 10 a.m. in Beijing today, Xinhua reported.
Their feelings about Deng Xiaoping’s landmark reforms and confidence in China’s future largely depended on how much their economic fortunes had risen as a result of its opening. While the policies lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty, the growing wealth gap is becoming an increasingly problematic issue for China’s leaders. And as the nation grapples with a slowing economy and trade war with the U.S. -- even those who succeeded because of Deng’s reforms were cautious about whether the growth could be sustained.