Four Modernizations

The Four Modernizations (simplified Chinese: 四个现代化; traditional Chinese: 四個現代化; pinyin: Sì gè xiàndàihuà) were goals set forth by Zhou Enlai in 1963, and which were a focus of the Chinese government henceforth, especially under Deng Xiaoping. They were introduced as early as January, 1963: at the Conference on Scientific and Technological Work held in Shanghai that month, Zhou Enlai called for professionals in the sciences to realize "the Four Modernizations." In February 1963, at the National Conference on Agricultural Science and Technology Work, Nie Rongzhen specifically referred to the Four Modernizations as comprising agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology. In 1975, in one of his last public acts, Zhou Enlai made another pitch for the Four Modernizations at the Fourth National People's Congress. After Zhou's death and Mao’s soon thereafter, Deng Xiaoping assumed control of the party in late 1978. In December 1978 at the Third Plenum of the 11th Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping announced the official launch of the Four Modernizations, formally marking the beginning of the reform era. The Four Modernizations were in the fields of:

• Agriculture
• Industry
• National Defense
• Science and Technology

The Four Modernizations were designed to make China a great economic power by the early 21st century. These reforms essentially stressed economic self-reliance. The People's Republic of China decided to accelerate the modernization process by stepping up the volume of foreign trade by opening up its markets, especially the purchase of machinery from Japan and the West. By participating in such export-led growth, China was able to speed up its economic development through foreign investment, a more open market, access to advanced technologies, and management experience.

Further reading

• Hsü, Immanuel C. Y. (2000). The Rise of Modern China (6th ed. ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-512503-7. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
• Evans, Richard (1995). Deng Xiaoping and the making of modern China (2nd ed. ed.). London: Penguin Books. ISBN 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Check |isbn= value: length (help)