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China after Deng
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February 19, 1997: 10:19 p.m. ET
Experts see Chinese economic future staying on track despite leader's death
From Correspondent Kelli Arena
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WASHINGTON (CNNfn) - Deng Xiaoping's last wish was to live to see Hong Kong handed over to China.
He didn't get his wish.
Deng died at age 92 on Wednesday -- less than five months before Britain intends to return Hong Kong to Chinese rule.
Still, experts describe Deng's leadership through other Chinese transitions as extraordinary.
"Deng engineered the most dramatic economic transformation of the 20th century, maybe ever," said Greg Mastel of the Economic Strategy Institute. "He changed China from a moribund, communist economy to an expansive, bull, rapidly growing mixed economy, with Marxism and market elements both present there. And it's a dramatic change."
Since Deng reformed China's economy in the late 1970s, the country has seen remarkable growth.
Its exports have expanded at a rate three times the world average, and trade with the United States now stands at $200 billion a year.
China's economy is currently growing at an annual pace of about 10 percent -- about four times as fast as the U.S. economy expanded in 1996.
Most experts expect a smooth economic transition following Deng's death, with few major changes.
David Malpass, director of international economics at Bear Stearns, said the long-ailing Deng "had been out of leadership and simply monitoring affairs from a distance" for some time.
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