The Geostrategy of China’s Reform and Opening Up (1978)

Redefining, Reordering, and Producing Shenzhen as a Global Place

Abstract

This article analyzes China’s Reform and Opening Up, initiated in 1978, from the perspective of territorial geostrategy, focusing on the development of Shenzhen as a global hub and instrument of Chinese state power. It argues that the decision to create the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ), adjacent to Hong Kong, was a deliberate act of territorial redefinition and spatial reordering of the Pearl River Delta, aiming not only at economic growth but also at the recovery of historical territories. The methodology employed is based on an analysis of geostrategic literature and Chinese state planning, demonstrating that Shenzhen functioned as a systems laboratory and a gravitational pole, instrumentalizing the flows of capital and technology from Hong Kong to the mainland. The study concludes that Shenzhen's development as a global technological and financial hub is the physical manifestation of a long-term strategy by the Communist Party of China (CPC) to consolidate sovereignty, reverse the “Century of Humiliation,” and design a new model of territorial management, culminating in the “One Country, Two Systems” formula as a solution for reunification.