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Deng Xiaoping, 1979.

Deng, Xiaoping 1904- 1997

Deng Xiaoping 邓小平 was one of the most consequential Chinese and world leaders of the 20th century. A Chinese revolutionary, Deng held high-ranking positions within the Chinese Communist Party during the Mao Zedong era (1949-1976) but was purged and removed from power on two separate occasions. After the death of Mao in the late 1970s, Deng rose to preeminence within the CCP and presided over China during a period of rapid political and economic change. Although Deng’s name is synonymous with the policy of opening and reform and China’s fast-paced economic growth, Deng's legacy is complicated by his responsibility for the tragic, deadly crackdown at Tiananmen Square in June 1989.

Deng Xiaoping, 1979.

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Popular Documents

November 2, 1979

Letter Dated 2 November 1979 from the Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

The Vietnamese Permanent Representative to the UN submits an excerpt from a record of conversation between Pol Pot and Hua Guofeng, dated September 29, 1977.

October 9, 1964

Conversation between Comrade Beqir Balluku and Comrade Mao Zedong on 9 October 1964

Mao Zedong and Beqir Balluku ridicule Nikita Khrushchev and discuss the grievances that both Albania and China have towards the Soviet Union.

May 13, 1959

From the Meeting of the Delegation of the Party of Labor of Albania with Comrade Mao Zedong on 13 May 1959

Mao and Kapo discuss Albania's history and its present day struggle with Yugoslavia. Mao reviews the CCP's own history as well as developments in Tibet.

September 1988

Record of Meetings in Prime Minister Takeshita’s Visit to China

Detailed summaries of Japanese Prime Minister Takeshita's conversations with Li Peng, Yang Shangkun, Deng Xiaoping, and Zhao Ziyang. Topics of discussion include Sino-Japanese political, economic, and cultural relations; China's economy and politics in the 1980s; the "history" problem; and the status of Taiwan. The two sides also discussed a range of international issues, including relations with the Soviet Union and the United States; developments on the Korean Peninsula; the Cambodian-Vietnamese conflict; the Iran-Iraq War; and Pakistan.

July 31, 1958

First Conversation between N.S. Khrushchev and Mao Zedong, Hall of Huaizhentan [Beijing]

Mao Zedong and N.S. Khrushchev discuss a joint navy, use of China’s coastline and advisers in both countries.
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Exterior of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

From Mao to Deng: China’s Changing Relations with the United States

What is the meaning of China’s rise? What are its consequences? Are China, the rising power and the world’s second largest economy, and the United States, the dominant power in the world, likely to chart a perilous course toward the “Thucydides’s Trap”? 

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Exterior of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Deng Xiaoping Visits Tokyo, October 1978 and February 1979

Deng Xiaoping visited Tokyo in 1978 and again in 1979. The records of these visits are important for understanding Sino-Japanese relations, the rise of China, and Japan’s role in the Cold War.

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Deng Xiaoping Sees Khrushchevs

What official Chinese sources say—and don’t say—about the country’s recent history

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Exterior of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Seeking Truth from Facts: Deng Xiaoping's Visit to France in 1975

Martin Albers discusses Deng Xiaoping's 1975 visit to France - the first major Western country to fully recognize the People's Republic of China - and the trip's importance to Deng's future economic policy in China.

Go to wilsoncenter.org