"
Thousand Year Marathon" and "
Chinese Views of Future Warfare", both by Pillsbury. First is widely avaiable, second on FAS for free to read (
https://fas.org/nuke/guide/china/doctrine/chinview/chinacont.html). Both clearly show rise to power of China for the past 50 years or so.
It is actually clear and simple picture - changing security enviroment and paradgims - to not end up as a next USSR or Jugoslavia and prevent seizure of power by foreing powers through internal popular revolutions. It was heavily top down affair, coupled with the help of IMF, World Bank and leading economical advisers. Chinese took the advices, and, which is most importantly, adjusted them to the local enviroment. Thus it prevented the popular in Eastern Europe destruction of local production capacity and brain drain, and also economical subjugation by international corporations through destruction of the native industries and service providers. Thanks to that, Chinese managed to achieve what is currently know as "Chinese economic miracle".
Note that Milton Friedman (yes, the same who got Nobel prize) in 1993 prohecised economical dawnfall of China due to the CCP leaders not letting completely free "market's invisible hand" run it's course. Most of the cities, then empty (called "ghost cities"), were called by him "Potemkin villages for the Emperor" - the same which now are economical powerhouses and industry hubs. We see know that whole secret of the "Miracle" and Chinese success was rational execution of strategic cycle, of rational planning and adjsuting plans and goals as situation demanded. State's intervention also was used as a driving and guiding mechanism, with radical measures taken, with haste mind you, during 2008 financial crysis, which anabled stabilisation of the situation, once again, to the literal shock of the leading economists.
{based on: Bradsher K.,
Chinas economy become no 2 by defying no 1 ,
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2018/11/27/chinas-economy-became-no-2-by-defying-no-1.html [access: 2021.07.15] }
Also of note is a fact that PRC invested heavily into the developement of the infrastructure, which anabled not only speedy progress of modernisation, but also exploitation of resources and human capital in a more efficient way, playing part with dramatic reduction of poverty and creation of the 300 milion strong middle class (
China Military Power 2019), conneting remote regions, establishing robust and effective supply chains. THAT created an enviroment which enabled further economical expansion and attraction of the external capital and know-how, which was crucial for modernisational effort and for establishing fundaments for own, modern high-tech industry.
Also rememer that none of that would be possible if not for Iranian Revolution, which cut off US from survailance capacity aimed on USSR and Sino-Soviet split (which was not ideological - the clue of the split was: 1. who will lead the socialist world? and 2. Chinese were rapidly modernising and Soviet Union have seen the tempo of acquring, introduction and dissimination of new technologies as too fast and dangerous for it's own security and status of global superpower - curiosity: Napoleon Bonaparte when asked about China was alleged to say "Let the Chinese sleep, becouse when they awake, it will be a great emabrrasment/problem for the World", given tempo and assimiliation and modernisation effort and then unused potential, especially human potential, it was evident that the USSR was creating another, independent superpower - thus we got Sino-Soviet split). US seeing that, they have thawed their relations with the Middle Kingdom and greatly supported with money, know-how, techology (including military). Chinese muslim Uighurs and Xinjang province were crucial for fighting USSR in Afghanistan - training camps and supply routes, and also fresh supply of holy warriors for the Afghan grinder (not that part, it is one of the problems for the ongoing problems between Chinese and Uighurs). Also North and North-Eastern Chinese provinces were places for US intelligence gathering effort on the USSR.
Thanks to that, China was not isolated politically and economically from the rapidly developeing global free trade zone, from which the USSR and Warsaw Pact was, which was in the end main reason for their demise. China apparently was to follow it's path, and Yugoslavia, a suposedly natural process - press and books from the 90s period are abundat with it, with even famous dissulution scenario ("divorce with the poor",
vide Toffler for example) - a specific case of the Fukuyama's self fulfiling prophecy of "end of history". Yet, Chinese, mindful of what is going around the world, did actually everything they could to create prosperous enviroment for themselves to not end two previously mentioned sociallist countries.
In the end also we must remember about Tienamnen, a place where
de facto, was written down specific kind of social contract. It may be a perverse thing to say, but the Party have tasted widespread dissent - Chinese aremd and security apparatus is too small to pacify the largest (or, recently second largest) nation on the planet - economical reneval and modernisation was necessary. That is why Chinese are building for themselves "Chines dream", of stable and prosperous enviroment, where nation and state will thrive and develope, secured ecnomicalaly, politically and militarly (also enviromentally) - Party keeps ruling, nation propspers, state endures - and all that on an appropriate, increasing standard of living, not subsistance level.
And as we see, it is working actually. Supposed "Potemkin villages" are modern civilisational hubs teaming with life, innovation and high-technology, PRC didn't collapse nor dissolve, but become first (or second, depending on sources and counting methods) economic power of the World, nowadays openly hatching into the superpower stage.