Four Modernizations

The Four Modernizations (simplified Chinese: 四个现代化; traditional Chinese: 四個現代化; pinyin: si4 ge xian4 dai4 hua4; abbreviation: 四化), were the goals of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms. The Four Modernizations were:

• agriculture
• industry
• science and technology
• the military

These reforms were a reversal of the Mao Zedong policy of economic self-reliance. The People's Republic of China decided to accelerate the modernization process by stepping up the volume of foreign trade, especially the purchase of machinery from Japan and the West. By participating in such export-led growth, China was able to step up the Four Modernizations by attaining certain foreign funds, market, advanced technologies and management experiences, thus accelerating its economic development.

The Four Modernizations were alluded to in a wall poster by Chinese activist Wei Jingsheng which called for a Fifth Modernization, democracy.

See also:

• History of the People's Republic of China
• Chinese economic reform
• List of Chinese numbered policies