摘要
Before 1842, China was a major world economic power, about 30% of the world economy. From 1842 to 1901, China was forced to sign 29 ＂unequal treaties＂, depriving China of much of its sovereignty. （China lost tariff autonomy, consular jurisdiction over foreigners, control over land in concession areas, inland shipping rights, control over foreign troops, and the right to outlaw opium and to tax businesses）. These sovereignty losses correlated with China＇s economy shrinking to about five percent of the world economy by 1949 （Maddison, 2009）. Communist China regained full sovereignty in 1949 and, even with a post-Korean War US-led Western blockade; China＇s planned economy model achieved average GDP per capita growth of 2.8% annually from 1949 to 1973, despite the disasters of the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution （Maddison, 2009, p. 216）. Though twice the per capita growth rate of India （1.4%）, China＇s growth was only 35% of Japan＇s growth rate （eight percent from 1950 to 1973）. After Mao＇s 1976 death, Deng Xiaoping, with the new global political/economic environment, opened China to the global economy, achieving annual per capita growth of more than five percent （Maddison, 2009）. China＇s per capita income increased from USD 200 in 1978 to about USD 5000 in 2012, making China the world＇s second largest economy. We will explore how China used its post-1949 full sovereignty to combine lessons from China＇s semi-sovereign past and its domestic experiences （Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution） to engage in Western-style market reforms and ＂China Goes Global＂ policies. These Chinese reforms were also based on the post-WWII changed international environment and the success of Japan and the Four Tigers in creating ＂miracle＂ economies.
