Al Mamun Harun Ur Rashid :
On August 22, 1904, in the rugged heart of Sichuan, Deng Xiaoping was born — a revolutionary, reformer, and the man later hailed as the “chief architect of China’s reform and opening up.”
If Mao Zedong gave the Chinese people a nation, it was Deng who gave them prosperity. He rebuilt a war-worn country into the fastest-growing economy of the late 20th century, steering it away from dogma and into pragmatic reform.
Today, nearly three decades after his passing, Deng remains a towering figure, not only for China, but also for nations like Bangladesh that stand at similar crossroads of history.
Deng’s leadership was forged in struggle. A communist soldier, a pragmatic statesman, and a visionary reformer, he rose from the ashes of the Cultural Revolution to guide China toward modernization. His belief in socialism with Chinese characteristics, his principle of seeking truth from facts, and his unwavering people-centered vision have become cornerstones of China’s rise.
As President Xi Jinping notes in his book ‘The Governance of China’, Deng’s greatest strength lay in his ability to combine firm ideals with flexibility, always grounding Marxism in China’s realities rather than abstract doctrine. Xi has repeatedly stressed that Deng’s pragmatism — his willingness to “cross the river by feeling the stones” — remains a guiding philosophy for the Communist Party of China today.
Deng understood geography’s power. By opening China’s eastern seaboard to the world, he turned coastal villages into bustling cities. Shenzhen, once a sleepy fishing town, became the testing ground of reform — a Special Economic Zone that embodied Deng’s vision of opening up without abandoning socialism. It was here that China first experimented with foreign investment, market reforms, and export-led growth.
Bangladesh, like China, has a vast coastal frontier. The Bay of Bengal is not just water — it is opportunity. It can be our Shenzhen, our bridge to the global economy.
Recently, Chief Adviser to the Interim Government Prof Muhammad Yunus said, “The Bay of Bengal is a valuable part of our country. We will trade with the country and abroad through the waters of this part. Through that, we will make the whole world our neighbor.”
Deng’s model shows that maritime geography, if harnessed with vision, can transform a nation’s destiny. Bangladesh’s ports, fisheries, shipbuilding industry, and blue economy offer similar promise — but only if matched with reforms that cut through bureaucracy, embrace innovation, and attract investment.
One of Deng’s greatest contributions was his principle of seeking truth from facts. He discarded rigid dogma and embraced practical solutions, asking only one central question: Does it work for the people? In agriculture, industry, trade, and diplomacy, he showed that pragmatism — not empty ideology — was the way to rebuild a nation.
Bangladesh faces similar challenges. The need for industrial upgrading, agricultural modernization, and coastal development demands pragmatic policies that put results before rhetoric. Bangladesh must allow innovation from below, empowering farmers, entrepreneurs, and coastal communities to shape their own solutions.
Deng was above all a people’s leader. “Poverty is not socialism,” he insisted. For him, the legitimacy of the Party — and the essence of socialism — lay in eliminating poverty and improving living standards.
That vision guides President Xi Jinping to continue reforms that ultimately lifted over 800 million Chinese out of poverty, the single greatest anti-poverty achievement in history, what World Bank also appreciated.
Bangladesh, which has made notable progress in poverty reduction, still faces daunting challenges of inequality, underemployment, and climate vulnerability, especially in its coastal south. Deng’s example reminds us that development is not about GDP alone, but about dignity, opportunity, and wellbeing for ordinary people.
Serving the people, as Deng stressed and Xi Jinping reiterates, must remain the foundation of governance.
Deng was not just a reformer at home; he was a strategist abroad.
He recognized that China could not prosper in isolation, but neither could it compromise its independence. “China’s affairs should be run by the Chinese people themselves,” he said, while boldly opening China to global markets. His balance of sovereignty and engagement remains relevant today.
Bangladesh, sandwiched between India, China, and the wider Indo-Pacific arena, must also chart a path that combines openness with independence. Deng’s strategic compass — openness without servitude, cooperation without compromise — offers Bangladesh a roadmap to navigate the geopolitical tides of the Bay of Bengal.
Deng’s reforms were not without risks. In 1978, his decision to break from rigid central planning was seen as bold, even dangerous. Yet he insisted: “We must not act like women with bound feet. Once we are sure something should be done, we should dare to experiment.” That pioneering courage, Xi Jinping reminds us, is what propelled China’s modernization.
Bangladesh, too, must cultivate that courage. To transform Chattogram into a world-class port, to make the Bay of Bengal a hub of blue economy industries, and to foster high-tech innovation zones along the coast — such reforms require political will, experimentation, and a Deng-like readiness to break old molds.
Despite his towering achievements, Deng remained modest. He resisted cults of personality, insisting that his accomplishments were merely those of the Chinese people. His ashes, as per his will, were scattered at sea and his corneas were given to the hospital — a final gesture of humility, devotion, and identification with the people he served.
In an era of strongman politics, Deng’s selflessness stands out. For Bangladesh, where political culture often places individuals above institutions, Deng’s example of modest, people-first leadership is worth remembering.
Seventeen years after his death, Xi Jinping described Deng’s legacy as “a torch that continues to guide our cause.” That torch should shine beyond China’s borders. For Bangladesh, the lesson of Deng Xiaoping is clear: geography is an opportunity, pragmatism is a necessity, and people are the ultimate purpose of politics.
As Bangladesh turns to the Bay of Bengal, it must do so with Deng’s wisdom — reformist zeal, courage to experiment, strategic foresight, and above all, love for the people.
Like Deng once said, “The essence of socialism is liberation and development of the productive forces, elimination of exploitation and polarisation, and the ultimate achievement of prosperity for all.”
On his 121st birth anniversary, Deng Xiaoping remains not just a figure of Chinese history, but a guiding light for Asia’s coastal nations — a torchbearer whose vision can help illuminate Bangladesh’s path to a stronger, fairer, more prosperous future by the sea.
(The writer is the Diplomatic Correspondent of the New Nation)
