China

Modern day China had its beginnings in 1978 when Deng Xiaoping became leader. This followed the revolution under Mao Zedong that killed 40 million plus another 40 million who died of hunger between 1949 and 1976. This type of government called Maoism was revolutionary communism, emphasizing peasant led insurrection to transform society to agrarian socialism. The goal was that everyone was equal in all ways and this appealed to the poorest of the poor. After Mao died, Deng Xiaoping took control and opened up the economy to a quasi-free-market business system called party-state capitalism which allows individuals to thrive. The per capita GDP which had hovered around $100 per year during Mao’s time began to rise doubling by 1982 and doubling again by 1992. When China entered the WTO in 2000 the per capita GDP was at $1,000 and rose quickly to $12,000 by 2020.