A billboard of China's late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. /CGTN Photo
In 1978, China’s late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping proposed the idea of internal reform and opening up to the outside world during the third plenary session of the 11th Party Congress, vowing to push for economic development in both urban and rural areas.
"Without reform and opening-up, there will be no hope for China," Deng said. "Development is the hard truth."
Since then, China has embarked on widespread economic reforms, while widely opening its market to the world, which is set to be further discussed in the 2018 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) on April 8-11. Experts will elaborate on how China has changed the world, and vice versa.