Returning to the normal track : 1972-1995

In his 1990 book One Step Ahead in China: Guangdong under Reform, the American scholar Ezra F. Vogel described the vibrant transformations happening in Guangdong Province, South China, in the 1980s, ranging from new construction sites for building and infrastructure to rapid economic growth. These enormous changes were bound up with a number of factors. Economically, the establishment of special economic zones in the cities of Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Shantou, among others, stimulated considerable private economic ownership and enterprise. Geographically, the proximity to Hong Kong also helped bring foreign direct investment to the region, which provided an initial financial foundation for economic and social development. Politically, these transformations date back to the early 1970s, when the Sino-US rapprochement created a new context for China’s later engagement with the West during the Cold War period.