INFOGRAPHIC: The legend of Deng Xiaoping

As paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping inherited a backward Soviet-style economy overshadowed by the cult of Mao’s leadership. In 1979 Deng adapted new ideas to kick start the economy. Growth was heading for double digits by the time of his death in 1997, just months before his negotiated return of Hong Kong to China. His legacy of pragmatic reform through dialogue and engagement reverberates today.