Where China's reform story began

Shenzhen stands as a template for spectacular economicsuccess, but now, deep anxiety looms over the impending Trump presidency

- SHYAM SARAN

Fifty years ago, on a sultry day in August, I headed to Beijing, China's capital, from Hong Kong on my first assignment to the country as a junior diplomat. There were no direct flights from Hong Kong, then still a British colony, to Beijing. One had to cross over, on foot, from the border village of Lowu to the Chinese side via a rickety wooden bridge across a stream. From Lowu, a local train took passengers to Guangzhou, from where one could either fly to Beijing or take a train. Lowu was in the middle of green fields of paddy, with a cluster of thatched houses in the village. There was a long wait at a large hall adjacent to the Lowu station, where foreign passport holders had to wait for the train to Guangzhou. We were assigned tables according to nationality and served a simple lunch. When a Canadian diplomat came to sit at my table, he was peremptorily shooed back to his own. Last week, I paid a visit to Hong Kong for a conference on China-US relations, but a side visit to Shenzhen F ifty years ago, on a sultry day in August, I headed "reform and opening up," policy in 1978 under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping. Its proximity to the international financial and business hub of Hong Kong contributed to its rapid success. It became the template for the spectacular economic success that China has achieved in its four decades of reform. Today, it is almost fully integrated with Hong Kong, over which China regained sovereignty in 1997. A bus took me on the expressway from the centre of Hong Kong to Shenzhen in less than an hour. The Customs and immigration formalities at the crossing point were quick and efficient. On the way back, I took a ferry from the port of Shekou on the outskirts of Shenzhen directly to the Hong Kong International Airport. Iwas able to check-in for my flight at the Shekou ferry pier itself and complete immigration and cusj & toms formalities before boarding the * ferry. What a contrast to th