Reform and opening-up: A turning point for China

The world has witnessed China's dramatic economic growth and social development since 1949. On December 18, 1978, the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee decided that the Party and the country should shift their focus to socialist modernization and concentrate on the strategic decision to reform and open-up. China has since embarked on a new course in the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics.