Zhang Weiwei

Editor's Note:

2014 marks the 110th anniversary of former leader Deng Xiaoping's birth. Deemed to be the general designer of China's reform and opening-up, Deng left China with great legacy. Today huge changes have taken place in this country, and some instructions from Deng have begun to stir up controversy. What is Deng's biggest contribution to China's reform? And how should we assess some side effects of his reform principles? Global Times (GT) reporter Zhang Yu talked to Zhang Weiwei (Zhang), director of the Center for China Development Model Research, Fudan University, and director of the Institute of China Studies, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. In the 1980s, Zhang was Deng's interpreter when he worked at the Department of Translation and Interpretation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

GT: If you look back through history, what is Deng's biggest contribution to China's reform process?

Zhang: Deng's political perseverance and strategic foresight are the two biggest contributions he made to China's reform and opening-up and the rapid development that ensued.

Let me talk about his strategic foresight first. He was over 80 years old when I became his interpreter, but he was talking about things that wouldn't happen until decades later, changes that he wouldn't have the chance to witness himself.

He was talking about these future goals so confidently and so persistently. The blueprint he set for China had a time frame of 100 years, and the goal was for China to become a true modern, socialist country.

His political foresight is unparalleled. Western politicians always talk about what they want to achieve in, say, 100 days. But Deng always talked about what should be achieved in a century.

Even now, China is developing under the blueprint that Deng designed for the country. There's a saying by Confucius that goes, "He who does not think of the future is certain to have immediate worries." It is easier for China to solve its short-term problems when its long-term goals and strategies are set.

Deng's political perseverance was also very admirable. Within less than a month after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the chaos in Eastern Europe, he had started his inspection tour to southern China.

He wanted to tell the world that socialism with Chinese characteristics works, and that he had faith in it. Today, he has proven to be right. He believed that socialism is the only solution for China, a kind of socialism that's innovative, open and competitive, and that China should cling to its systematic advantage.

GT: One byproduct of Deng's economic reform has been the wealth gap, and many people have been questioning Deng's instruction to "let some people get rich first" and then achieve common prosperity. What's your take on this?

Zhang: We should first recognize our achievements before we tackle the problems. The wealth gap is widening, but generally speaking, Chinese people are much wealthier than before.

Let's make a rough comparison with the US. According to a report by the US Federal Reserve, the median net worth of the US families fell to $77,300 in 2010. The net worth of over half of the Chinese families, I estimate, now exceeds that amount.

Three decades ago, we couldn't have imagined that the family wealth of Chinese and US families were even remotely comparable. The change shows how much progress China has made, and how the US is going backward. No matter how many problems China has today, most Chinese families have undergone a revolution in wealth.

In terms of bridging the wealth gap, China has achieved a lot through campaigns, such as the massive development of China's western regions. China's central and western parts are developing more rapidly than coastal areas, and the gap is slowly diminishing. China will further close that gap through a better system.

GT: Do you think the path China has taken has fulfilled Deng's expectations? Would he be happy about what China has become?

Zhang: I'd say China's current achievements have exceeded Deng's expectations. Honestly speaking, there isn't a single nation in the history of humankind that has risen so fast in such a short period of time. Of course, with development there come new problems, but the answers to China's problems are clear.

Back in the 1980s, Deng reflected on the problems that arose during the reform. He said if there had been any mistakes in the reform, it was the education problem. He meant the lack of political education.

I think this problem hasn't yet been solved. Our academia and media still lack confidence about China, despite the groundbreaking achievements it has made. This is in large part because Western discourse has had too big an influence on them.

Actually, the rise of China is beyond the logic of Western discourse, and we should surpass that logic. China has lots of problems, but our achievements show that we have carved out our own way to success.

GT: Deng is known for his simple but vivid language. Did you ever meet any difficulty when you interpreted for him? What was your most memorable interpreting experience?

Zhang: Each time before I interpreted for Deng, I read lots of materials and did lots of research so I didn't encounter any major difficulties. But there was a rather awkward time when Deng was meeting a foreign leader in 1987.

In the meeting, Deng used the word "mistake" to describe Hu Yaobang's resignation. He said that in Sichuan dialect, so I didn't understand it at first. Just when I didn't know what to do, the then foreign minister Wu Xueqian explained to me in Shanghainese. I was thus able to interpret it.

As for the characteristic terms that Deng used, such as "taoguang yanghui" (hide our capabilities and bide our time), the Department of Translation and Interpretation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a good tradition of translating them at first with the collective wisdom of its staff members, and then compiling them into brochures. This is the typical Chinese way of resorting to collective wisdom.