As China nears reform's golden jubilee, its intellectual architects look back — and ahead

China's reform and opening-up policy will turn 50 in 2028. That milestone is approaching at a time when the country faces a far more complex domestic and international environment than the one that greeted the launch of reform in 1978. The question confronting Chinese scholars today is therefore not merely how to commemorate a half-century of transformation, but how to interpret its legacy and chart the next chapter.

That question hovered over a gathering of economists, historians and policy researchers on Wednesday, where the launch of a publishing project commemorating the 50th anniversary of the start of reform and the release of a series of books by Guangdong Publishing Group on high-standard opening-up brought together intellectuals from across the country who have helped shape, witness and document China's transformation.

The mood among participants was less about celebrating past victories than about understanding the deeper forces that enabled China's rise from poverty to prosperity. Several of the scholars present belonged to a generation that experienced first-hand the reform waves of the 1980s and 1990s. They were not simply observers of China's modernization; many were active participants in the debates that helped define it.

Their presence highlighted an often overlooked dimension of China's reform story: the role of intellectual inquiry. Behind every major breakthrough in market reform, enterprise restructuring, rural development and opening-up stood years of research, experimentation and debate. China's economic transformation was not the product of historical circumstance alone. It was also the result of a sustained effort by generations of scholars, policymakers and entrepreneurs searching for practical solutions to development challenges.

That helps explain why the publishing project and the newly launched series reflect an effort to preserve institutional memory at a time when China faces a new set of questions. As Zhang Zhuoyuan, a member of the academic committee of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, observed, the 50th anniversary of China's reform deserves systematic documentation. He described the publishing project as an academic undertaking that "links the past with the future", enabling a comprehensive review of historical experience while providing insights for the continued deepening of reform.

The issues dominating today's policy agenda — from technological competition and industrial upgrading to demographic change and global economic fragmentation — differ greatly from those that confronted reformers decades ago. Yet the underlying challenge remains familiar: how to adapt institutions to changing realities while sustaining development momentum.

The series of books on opening-up focuses on high-standard opening-up in the new era. Covering institutional opening-up, regional trade integration, the Hainan Free Trade Port and high-standard free trade networks, the volumes illustrate how China's engagement with the global economy has evolved.

This evolution reflects a broader shift in China's development model. During the early decades of reform, opening-up largely meant learning from the world. Today, it increasingly involves contributing to global governance while advancing domestic modernization. Managing that balance will be one of the defining tests of the coming decades.

Chi Fulin, president of the China Institute for Reform and Development, pointed out that reviewing and summarizing the half-century journey of reform, studying the major strategic and practical issues facing the next stage of reform, and strengthening public understanding of reform history carry profound historical and contemporary importance. As the 50th anniversary approaches, he noted, such efforts are not simply acts of commemoration but contributions to the broader pursuit of Chinese modernization.

Li He, deputy Party chief of the Guangdong Publishing Group, described the new publishing project on reform as a flagship project intended to uphold the spirit of reform and opening-up while encouraging continued innovation in academic research.

For many members of that generation gathered in Beijing, revisiting reform is more than an academic exercise. It reflects the conscience of a generation of Chinese intellectuals who dedicated themselves to overcoming underdevelopment and who remain committed to advancing the country's modernization.

Their work serves as a reminder that China's reform story is not merely about economic statistics or policy milestones. It is also a story of intellectual responsibility — the determination of successive generations to understand their country's challenges and continuously search for solutions. In that sense, the most enduring legacy of reform may not be any single policy achievement, but the spirit of pragmatism and inquiry that made those achievements possible.