| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : SEPTEMBER 27, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
| ||||||||
 | ||||||||
| INTERNATIONAL -- ASIAN COVER STORY
The Long March to Capitalism 1900-1930s Capitalism flourishes in foreign-controlled coastal cities such as Shanghai, which emerges as a leading Asian financial and commercial center. 1949 Communists win power. Most industrialists flee to Hong Kong and Taiwan. Mao Zedong assures remaining businessmen the government will buy their assets or let them operate joint ventures. 1951 Following onset of the Korean War, Communist policies turn more radical. Crackdowns on intellectuals and capitalists grow intense. 1956 Virtually all farms have been converted to giant rural communes, and urban private businesses have been shut down as Mao Zedong prepares for the disastrous Great Leap Forward. 1966 Old businessmen and their families are brutalized and classified as "landlords" at the onset of the Cultural Revolution. 1978 Deng Xiaoping rises to power, launches market reforms, and opens doors to the outside. Farmers are allowed to sell some produce on the open market. 1990-92 China sets up its first stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, and Deng calls for rapid free-market reforms. Thousands of "red capitalists"--usually Communist officials and their families--emerge to seize opportunities. But Beijing still insists the state play the paramount role in the economy, and most businesses are linked to government bodies. 1997 Chinese President Jiang Zemin and other Communist leaders for the first time officially embrace private enterprise and announce plans to sell off thousands of state industries at the 15th Party Congress. 1999 Acknowledgment of the private sector is written into China's constitution, and the government issues laws delineating the rights and responsibilities of private businessmen. DATA: BW _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
|  |
 | |
 RELATED ITEMS China's New Capitalism (int'l edition) ASIAN COVER IMAGE: China's New Entrepreneurs TABLE: China's New Private Sector TABLE: The Long March to Capitalism Payoff for a Pioneer in Shanghai (int'l edition) The Very Model of a Modern Chinese Juggernaut (int'l edition) INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
