China's 77-Year Journey: From Mao's Revolution to Xi's Technological Ambitions

Kathmandu. October 1, 1949. When Mao Zedong declared the establishment of the People's Republic of China from Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, China had gone through a long war, foreign intervention, and political instability. The 77-year journey that began that day is not a history that has moved at a single pace. Rather, it can be understood in roughly three phases: first, Mao's political revolution. Second, Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms. And third, national rejuvenation and technological leap under Xi Jinping's leadership.

However, to understand today's China, these three phases must be viewed not only separately but also as a single historical continuity. Mao laid the political foundation of the modern Chinese state, Deng changed the economic direction of that state, and Xi succeeded in linking economic power with national rejuvenation, technological self-reliance, and global influence.