A different stage for reforms

Thirty-five years ago, then-Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping launched the reforms that have changed China so remarkably. Now the country is launching a new round of reforms. What is the difference between now and then? "There are many," said Ezra F. Vogel, a professor of emeritus at Harvard University and author of Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China, which was published in 2011.

In Vogel's opinion, the biggest difference between China in 1978 and now is the economic situation. When Deng launched reform, the country was "poor and divided", having just emerged from the devastating "cultural revolution" (1966-76), and it had a huge population struggling only for survival. Today it has the second-largest GDP in the world, more than $8 trillion, and the people are wealthier and better educated and have a global perspective.

However, while offering a stronger base for the deepening of reform, the better economic conditions might also mean it is difficult to make people feel they are economically benefiting from the new reforms, he said.