More than three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union , the Communist Party of China retains a firm grip on power. The powerful and feared organization has ruled the nation — home to close to one-fifth of the world’s population — for 75 years , surpassing the 74-year Soviet era in Russia. The party survived years of self-inflicted tumult after it took control in 1949.
A major course correction in 1978 transformed the country into an industrial giant with an economy second in size only to the United States. Party leaders now want to build an even stronger China to achieve what they call the “rejuvenation” of the nation by 2049 , which would mark the centennial of communist rule. Staying in power that long will depend on how they manage in an era of slower growth and intensifying competition with the United States, one that has raised the specter of a new cold war.
Mao Zedong , after declaring the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949, proved to be less adept at running a sprawling country than leading a revolution. He invited intellectuals to criticize the party's rule in the Hundred Flowers Campaign in 1956, only to have many exiled to rural areas or imprisoned as protests about the government mounted.
The misguided polices of the Great Leap Forward, launched in 1958 to accelerate the industrialization of China, led to a devastating famine that killed tens of millions of people. Then came the Cultural Revolution . Mao encouraged young C.