After more than two decades of headlong rush to transform China from an autarkic centrally planned economy into a limited open-market economy， Hu is now leading a nation in the midst of fateful debates about the most effective and balanced route toward a modern harmonious socialist society. Autarky has never been voluntary Chinese policy under socialism but rather an externally imposed sanction of the Cold War.

China's shift toward market economy in the past two and a half decades was not taken in isolation from world trends. When Deng Xiaoping introduced the "open/reform" policies in 1979，

toward the end of the Cold War， it was a rational response to a world infatuated with the extravagant promises of neo-liberal free trade. A quarter of a century later，while such open/reform policies have achieved spectacular results in bringing China forward into a modern interdependent world， the glaring resultant imbalances，such as excessive dependence on exports， worsening income disparity，regional development gaps， rampant official corruption，serious environmental crisis and near-total collapse of the social-service network and safety net，are raising calls for rethinking the wisdom of falling for the empty promises of neo-liberal globalization.

There is no disagreement among the youth who are destined to shoulder the continuing task of national reconstruction toward economic prosperity and cultural renaissance on the need for further opening/reform. The dispute is on the correct definition and path of opening/reform： open to neo-colonialism and reform toward social inequality and moral decay，or open to assuming a legitimate place as a strong and peaceful nation in a world order of free sovereign nations of equality and reform toward creative and scientific socialist construction based on equality，justice and freedom for all.