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{{quote|''It doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white--so long as it catches mice.''|'''[[Magnificent Bastard|Deng Xiaoping]]'''}}
The current phase of Chinese history. After the [[Cultural Revolution]] escalated [[Up to Eleven]], to the point that even [[Mao
Soon after, Mao died in 1976, and the reform-minded Deng Xiaoping finagled his way into power. Taking advantage of the changing world, Deng pushed through many economic reforms, arguing that "Poverty is not socialism," and that experimenting with capitalism was, in a nutshell, the best means to achieve the nation's stated communist ends. Leading the charge were "Special Economic Zones," mostly coastal cities with looser economic controls meant to attract foreign investors (There were some fairly [[Unfortunate Implications]] in the fact that many had been "treaty ports" seized by Western powers as semi-colonies events like the Opium Wars, but again; the ends justified the means); these lessened restrictions plus the much lower wages tolerated by Chinese workers, ironically as a result of poor economics in the many preceding decades, ensured that many foreign corporations would move their operations in. (Turn over your mouse and examine it right now; chances are it was made in China, along with most other things you own.) The enriched Chinese inhabiting the cities were then presumed to reinvest their own money inland.
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