o Deng Xiaoping, one of Mao Zedong’s political heirs, succeeded Mao after his death. He modernized China by opening it to foreign influence and welcomed economic and market reforms so that China could compete with western nations in consumer goods and industrial production, while simultaneously maintaining a communist economy . In 1978, he was placed in charge of the Ten Year Plan, which focused on heavy industry and making China able to support itself , but resulted in it going under modifications because it was too ambitious and expensive. In the same year, his party introduced an Open Door Policy, which was crucial because it enabled China to learn from the west through imports and trades . China focused on the quality and diversification
