Leveraging liminality: the border town of Bao'an (Shenzhen) and the origins of China's reform and opening

Located immediately north of Hong Kong, Shenzhen is China's most successful special economic zone (SEZ). Commonly known as the “social laboratory” of reform and opening, Shenzhen was the foremost frontier for the People's Republic of China's adoption of market principles and entrance...

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Main Author: Zhou, Taomo
Other Authors: School of Humanities
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/159530
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1595302022-06-24T07:43:06Z Leveraging liminality: the border town of Bao'an (Shenzhen) and the origins of China's reform and opening Zhou, Taomo School of Humanities Humanities::History Border Chinese Communist Party Located immediately north of Hong Kong, Shenzhen is China's most successful special economic zone (SEZ). Commonly known as the “social laboratory” of reform and opening, Shenzhen was the foremost frontier for the People's Republic of China's adoption of market principles and entrance into the world economy in the late 1970s. This article looks at prototypes of the SEZ in Bao'an County, the precursor to Shenzhen during the Mao era (1949-76). Between 1949 and 1978, Bao'an was a liminal space where state endeavors to establish a socialist economy were challenged by capitalist influences from the adjacent British Crown colony of Hong Kong. To create an enclave of exception to socialism, Communist cadres in Bao'an promoted individualized, duty-free cross-border trade and informal foreign investment schemes as early as 1961. Although beholden to the inward-looking planned economy and stymied by radical leftist campaigns, these local improvisations formed the foundation for the SEZ-the hallmark of Deng Xiaoping's economic statecraft. Ministry of Education (MOE) This article is part of a research project titled “Shenzhen: China on the Move,” supported by Tier 1 Grant number RG74/18, Ministry of Education, Singapore. 2022-06-24T07:43:06Z 2022-06-24T07:43:06Z 2021 Journal Article Zhou, T. (2021). Leveraging liminality: the border town of Bao'an (Shenzhen) and the origins of China's reform and opening. Journal of Asian Studies, 80(2), 337-361. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0021911821000012 0021-9118 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/159530 10.1017/S0021911821000012 2-s2.0-85103061428 2 80 337 361 en RG74/18 Journal of Asian Studies © 2021 The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. All rights reserved.
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic Humanities::History
Border
Chinese Communist Party
spellingShingle Humanities::History
Border
Chinese Communist Party
Zhou, Taomo
Leveraging liminality: the border town of Bao'an (Shenzhen) and the origins of China's reform and opening
description Located immediately north of Hong Kong, Shenzhen is China's most successful special economic zone (SEZ). Commonly known as the “social laboratory” of reform and opening, Shenzhen was the foremost frontier for the People's Republic of China's adoption of market principles and entrance into the world economy in the late 1970s. This article looks at prototypes of the SEZ in Bao'an County, the precursor to Shenzhen during the Mao era (1949-76). Between 1949 and 1978, Bao'an was a liminal space where state endeavors to establish a socialist economy were challenged by capitalist influences from the adjacent British Crown colony of Hong Kong. To create an enclave of exception to socialism, Communist cadres in Bao'an promoted individualized, duty-free cross-border trade and informal foreign investment schemes as early as 1961. Although beholden to the inward-looking planned economy and stymied by radical leftist campaigns, these local improvisations formed the foundation for the SEZ-the hallmark of Deng Xiaoping's economic statecraft.
author2 School of Humanities
author_facet School of Humanities
Zhou, Taomo
format Article
author Zhou, Taomo
author_sort Zhou, Taomo
title Leveraging liminality: the border town of Bao'an (Shenzhen) and the origins of China's reform and opening
title_short Leveraging liminality: the border town of Bao'an (Shenzhen) and the origins of China's reform and opening
title_full Leveraging liminality: the border town of Bao'an (Shenzhen) and the origins of China's reform and opening
title_fullStr Leveraging liminality: the border town of Bao'an (Shenzhen) and the origins of China's reform and opening
title_full_unstemmed Leveraging liminality: the border town of Bao'an (Shenzhen) and the origins of China's reform and opening
title_sort leveraging liminality: the border town of bao'an (shenzhen) and the origins of china's reform and opening
publishDate 2022
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/159530
_version_ 1736856418931179520