The Reluctant DragonChinese foreign economic policy before 1978 has been considered isolationist and centered on Maoist self reliance. In this revisionist analysis, Lawrence Reardon argues that China was not out of touch with the global marketplace during the 1949 78 period and that Deng Xiaopings heralded liberalizations in fact were revisions and expansions of policies from the Maoist period. The dramatic economic reforms initiated by Chinas leaders in 1978 boosted GDP