Medina conducts academic exchanges at the World Sinology Center in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, in July 2023. [Photo courtesy of Medina]

This December marks the 45th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up. Upon the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, the Chinese government outlined several fundamental objectives, with national unity and economic recovery standing out as the most imperative ones. The reform and opening-up introduced in late 1978 marked a historic decision made by the third Plenary Session of the 11th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, which aimed to transform China into a dynamic and modernized power through a series of reform measures. We can delve into the history of China's reform and opening-up from various perspectives, such as the modern and contemporary history of the world and China, international relations, and even scientific and technological development.

The long-term crisis since the mid-19th century severely disrupted China's civilization, leaving the country mired in backwardness and poverty in modern times. The structural reform, which took place 45 years ago, was a response to social appeals. The two Opium Wars (1839–1842 and 1856–1860) imposed numerous unfair treaties on China, and resulted in territory loss, payment of war compensations, forced opening of the market, and other hardships imposed by the Western powers who intended to conquer this Asian giant. All such actions taken by the Western powers were only the results of the attempt of the government of the Qing Dynasty (1616–1911) to halt the trade of opium sold from British India, which incurred tremendous damage to the Chinese people.

Other vivid examples of China's economic, social and cultural crisis in the 19th century, as mentioned above, include the Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864) and the Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901). These two peasant uprisings demonstrated the frustration of grassroots Chinese in the face of the nation's decline and their deep dissatisfaction with the country's inability to resist foreign invasions, which further hastened the dissolution of the feudal society. Entering the 20th century, the Qing Dynasty, the last feudal dynasty in China, which had shaped China's destiny for almost three centuries, collapsed. However, the Republic of China (1912–1949), which was established in succession, still failed to save the Chinese people from imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism. Instead, it became entangled in an endless civil war and faced brutal invasions by Japanese militarism. It was only in the year 1949, with the success of the New-Democratic Revolution (1919–1949) led by the CPC, that China ushered in a new chapter in its history.