Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, 3rd Edition, 3rd Edition

39China Swings the Balance

Beijing’s march toward becoming a major world player began when Deng Xiaoping emerged as China’s new leader after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976. Under Deng’s stewardship, China abandoned decades of disastrous development strategies that had resulted in the starvation deaths of an estimated 20 million people.¹ Deng advocated reforms that promoted, in his words, a “market economy with Socialist characteristics.” His market economy differed significantly from the US version.

I learned a lot about how Deng’s ideas emphasized community over individualism and molded what would become its EHM strategy in 2009 when I was invited to lecture at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). An MBA program that is consistently ...