Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of opinion pieces paying tribute to the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up.

Priyanka Sharma

consultpriyanka1@gmail.com

ON the evening of Sept. 28, a bunch of us were hanging out on our friend’s terrace enjoying the pleasantly surprising cool autumn breeze, making plans for the National Day holiday. Many ideas were suggested, a lot more were rejected, and eventually it was decided that we would all be going to watch the light show in Shenzhen’s CBD on Oct. 1.

So, there we were standing at the top of the Lianhua Hill, among a sea of people that seemed to have no beginning nor end, waiting for the insanely hyped light show to start.

Despite most of us being foreigners, we couldn’t help but feel joyous, celebratory and mostly proud of the fact that China is celebrating 40 years of reform and opening up. After all, for many of us, this country has become as much of a home as any place can be.

Then, out of the blue, just before the light show started, our Chinese buddy said “Can you imagine it has been 40 years?”

As millions of LEDs lit up together to brighten Shenzhen’s evening sky, all the while dancing across some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, I couldn’t help but feel humbled by the slowly dawning realization that a country that had just survived wars, famines and social upheaval four decades ago has now become the world’s second-largest economy!

Focus on these few simple things and you will get some idea of how China has achieved this feat:

1. Back to the land — agriculture — A hungry, poorly fed people couldn’t help in the progress and development of their nation even if they wanted to. Agriculture was in dire need of help, so the commune system was dissolved and farmers were incentivized under the contract responsibility system to reduce production costs and increase productivity. Open farmer’s markets were created in rural as well as urban areas.

2. Focused industrial revolution — Rather than focusing on all industries at the same time, the reform policy took an incremental route and chose to get the key requirements in place first: transportation, communication, coal, iron, steel, building materials and electric power.

3. Global cooperation — foreign investment — This was the “opening-up” part of the reform and opening-up policy. It was understood that not only did China need foreign technology and expertise but also needed those countries to believe and invest in China. Once again, rather than having foreign investment scattered all over the country, focused areas in the form of special economic zones were created, namely Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen, where investments could receive special treatment. The world was free to invest in and trade with China.

Further on, the economic development zones created in the coastal cities would become the country’s major commercial and industrial centers.

4. Freedom of entrepreneurship — Moving away from the centralization approach, entrepreneurship and free market activities were encouraged. This was the part where the government trusted the people to decide what’s best for them, their businesses and communities. They were not wrong to do so.

Chinese leaders realized their mistakes and were neither ashamed to admit them nor slow to remedy them. The planned economy was replaced by a market economy, ushering in decades of rapid growth.

If you have been following the governmental activities and policy changes on the Indian subcontinent, their prime minister has been trying to take lessons from the man responsible for China’s reform, Mr. Deng Xiaoping, and follow in his footsteps. Although they are 40 years behind, I hope the saying “It’s never too late” can apply there.

There are a few things that not only developing countries like India but also small and large businesses and even individuals can learn from China’s reform.

— Don’t be ashamed of admitting you are wrong. You are only human and making mistakes is part of the process.

— Don’t wait to remedy your mistakes either; Time and tide wait for no man.

— Start small and stay focused. Rather than trying to change everything at the same time, start with the fundamentals and go on up.

— Don’t be afraid to ask for help and advice from people who are doing better than you; There is no shame in that.

— Don’t be afraid of the scale of your project.

— Listen to everybody, but then apply that knowledge to your situation in the way you think is best for you; No one knows your project or problems better than you do.

— And last but not the least, never stop improving. What is stagnant is dead or soon will be; It’s one of nature’s laws.

I am glad for the happy accident that brought me to this country, and even though I may complain about some things here, the anniversary of reform reminds me that it has just been 40 years and China is far from done.

(The author is an aspiring writer with a passion for travel and photography.)