Women and work in Shenzhen

In 1979 the Chinese government established four Special Economic Zones (SEZs) along the south China coast, marking a radical departure from previous policies. Since 1949 the Chinese leadership, acutely aware of a hostile global political economy and internal pressures of poverty, overpopulation, and technological backwardness, had adopted relatively autarkic development policies within a framework of proclaimed socialist principles. Whatever the internal realities that influenced passage of the Maoist era, changes in the international political economy were particularly evident: the settlement of the Vietnam War removed a major obstacle to improved U.S.-China relations; an emerging Japanese threat to American economic supremacy made power relations in Asia more fluid; and a growing integration of the world economy along with greater competitiveness spurred by the activities of multinational companies created new pressures and opportunities for poor and developing nations.