Deng Xiaoping Essay, Research Paper

Deng Xiaoping was born in 1904, he was a Chinese Communist leader, who survived two purges to become the ruler of China after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976. Deng served the Communist party in various capacities,and participating in the Long March from 1934 to 1935.

After the establishment of the Communist government in 1949, Deng moved up rapidly in the Communist rank under Mao’s patronage, serving as vice premier in 1954 and general secretary of the party from 1956 to 1966. Deng distinguished himself as a pragmatist, after the failure of the Great Leap Forward in 1960; he was then exposed to radical attacks and stripped of office between 1967 and 1969, Deng was brought back into power by Zhou Enlai who made him vice premier in 1973. Deng was purged again in 1976 by the Gang of Four but was reinstated by Hua Guofeng in 1977.

After Hua resigned from his post as premier in 1980, Deng installed his prot g s into government positions: Zhao Ziyang became premier and, in 1982, Hu Yaobang became general secretary of the Communist party. Over the next two years, Deng edged Hua out of power altogether.

Deng worked to redevelop China mainly through economic and social reforms. These reforms encouraged initiative and growth and were achieved. His overall aim was to strengthen and stabilize China, to securing Communist rule. China joined special enterprise zones and other initiatives were established to attract foreign investment. In foreign policy, he developed close ties with Japan and the United States in order to counterbalance the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Deng’s policies produced rapid economic development, but also unleashed unforeseen social turmoil and greater political freedom. Deng, however, did not intend to compromise the Communist party’s absolute power and approved the bloody massacre that ended the Tiananmen Square Protest in 1989. Deng resigned in November 1989, but retained paramount authority.