I have concentrated on what China has done right toproduce an economic miracle，thinking I would intro-duce a fewnegative remarks to balance things out at the end.But I find myself reluctant to do so.This is the30th anniversary of the beginning of economic reform,and Chinese tradition teaches that we do not throw mudon someone’s face on his or her birthday.And it is not just someone.It is a civilization once so rich and sodeep that some of the fine pottery and jade carvings pro-duced 5,000 years ago cannot be replicated even today.This heritage I amproud of，and those who studyChinese history and culture will concur that it is a sourceof pride for mankind.A renaissance of the Chinese her-itage is occurring right now.
Beijing has a great deal to be proud of.Criticize the authorities in detail if you want，but they have done somuch to relieve poverty，on such a massive scale andwith such speed，that there cannot be any parallel in his-tory.I surmise that such an accomplishment would never be repeatedanywhere，anytime.
I have stood firmon the merits of private property and the market for more than 40 years.However，I havenever objected to the existence of the Communist Party of China.Fromday one I opposed reformthrough thedemocratic voting process.In no uncertain terms I told agroup of old comrades during our first encounter in Beijing in 1983: “You messed the country up; you fix itfor me.” We became good friends.Sadly，many of themare no longer around.They have delivered far more thanI anticipated.In the middle of the night I some times wonder howsome of them would react if they could live
long enough to see the China of today.The Communist Party of China has done a marvelousjob! Political parties have problems，all kinds of prob-lems.How is it possible to properly organize partyactivities and enforce party rules when the membershipis 80 millions strong？It is mind-boggling.
The Party led the way and directed the action.But themain reason for success is the Chinese people，hardy,intelligent，and resilient，who can take a huge amount ofsuffering today when they see opportunities opening uptomorrow.I am not going on to praise the Chinese peo-ple，but I have never seen individuals working so hardfor so little under such miserable conditions——and stillsmile.In 2004，while taking photos in the wilderness,my wife had a conversation with a woman working inthe field.This woman said she had a pay day every sooften，when someone called and bused her to the indus-trial district to do landscaping.Leaving home beforedawn and returning in darkness，surviving on a loaf ofbread and a bottle of water，she earned US7 a day.Isawher smiling and asked why she was so happy.She said livelihood had improved because her expertise of planting trees was for the first time in her life in demandfromoutsiders，and that her daughter had just graduatedfromcollege with a good job at US200 a month.It is individuals like that woman，millions and millions ofthem，who have built up the China of today.
I published my first Chinese article in 1979，but writ-ing in earnest did not begin until the fall of 1983.Chinese officials and business executives in their primetoday were college students then.Many of themread my writings，and as an old man nowI get free meals every-where I go.It has been a pleasure wining and diningwith themand at the same time obtaining first-handinformation to support the writing of this paper.I here thank the mall，with deep sincerity，and thank themagainfor the roles they have played in pushing their country to see the dawn of light.
Popular reports that say Chinese officials are routinelycorrupt are simply not true.Many are highly intelligentand dedicated.An ethos of competition exists amongofficials and businessmen which reminds me of my stu-dent days at UCLA in the early 1960s.Within eachgroup they knowor have heard of who is who，assesseach others’ ability，and play the competitive game of performance ranking.It is as if they have no purpose inmind except to see who could climb higher.
The xian official who came to visit and asked for aglass of wine is one example.He worked so hard for sosmall a salary——about US300 a month——that I won-dered what drove the man.Would it be corruptionmoney？Promotion？Prestige？Very subtly I tried to feelhimout.After a while he knew what I was going after,and said: “My dear professor，I just want to do some thing for the country.” If and when the environment is suffi-ciently inspiring，we may see many such people around.
I return to China’s miracle.Other than the economicsystemitself，I rank two developments as truly miracu-lous.First is the explosive growth in the Yangtze Riverbasin that stretched all the way into the mid-west，begin-ning around 1993.This took place during a period which began with the collapse of the RMB，20% infla-tion followed by 3% deflation，and a fall in propertyprices by two-third or more.Second is the explosive risein peasant income beginning around 2000，when defla-tion came to an end.I estimate that，from2000 to 2007,the per-capita income of peasants increased about 20%per year.Three out of four peasants of working age have floated to industrial and commercial employment.If this trend continues，it will take no more than ten years forthe average income of peasants to catch up with themediumin come group living in the cities.Trends，of course，cannot be counted on，but if the trend continues，Iestimate that in twenty more years China’s economic sta-tus would amount to ten Japans.
