Quick questions on Deng Xiaoping and opening up explained: H2 China Studies

The intellectual foundation of the strategy was pragmatism. Deng's slogans, that "it does not matter whether a cat is black or white so long as it catches mice," and that "practice is the sole criterion of truth," subordinated ideology to results. This pragmatism gave the leadership the freedom to adopt whatever worked, including market mechanisms, without first resolving the question of whether it was "socialist." It also justified the central methodological choice: to proceed by trial and error rather than by imposing a grand blueprint.

A concrete example of gradualism was the dual-track price system. Instead of freeing all prices at once, the state kept a planned track, in which enterprises met quotas at fixed prices, while allowing a market track in which output above quota could be sold at market prices. Over time the market track grew and the plan track shrank, so the economy transitioned to market pricing gradually rather than through a single jolt. This cushioned the shock of reform, preserved a degree of security for those tied to the plan, and reduced political resistance, while progressively expanding the role of the market.

The strongest answers resist crediting gradualism alone. Opening to the world economy brought in foreign investment, technology and export markets; an abundant supply of cheap, disciplined labour gave China a powerful comparative advantage; and a capable, unchallenged state could plan and enforce the reform sequence. Gradualism was the method that made disciplined reform possible, but it succeeded because it was combined with opening and with state capacity. The right judgement treats it as a necessary and distinctive condition rather than a sufficient explanation on its own.

Explain what Deng Xiaoping meant by "crossing the river by feeling the stones." [4 marks]

Explain how the dual-track price system eased the transition to a market economy. [12 marks]

"Gradualism, not opening to the world, was the decisive feature of China's reform strategy." How far do you agree? [20 marks]