Rethinking Capitalism
Deng Xiaoping’s domestic economic reforms and his outreach to the West marked the start of an extraordinary period of learning and experimentation in China. Diplomats were at the vanguard of this process. Far more exposed than even the most powerful Beijing officials to just how far China had fallen behind, they found themselves confronted with unsettling truths: the capitalist model they had long reviled had delivered greater prosperity and higher living standards than communism. Some even began to question the Party’s monopoly on power. As China pursued economic reforms at home, the country’s diplomatic corps also underwent a makeover: China professionalized its diplomats, ditched Mao suits for Western attire, retired many of the 1950s old guard, and expanded its diplomatic network.