Deng Xiaoping formalized a Chinese national policy of "Reform and Opening" in a December 1978 speech before a plenary of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee. The long-term economic results of this new direction continue to be astonishing and the subsequent 30 years have had a singular impact on China and the world. Economic Transitions with Chinese Characteristics: Thirty Years of Reform and Opening Up puts the current economic situation into a broad context and looks at a number of issues related to economic growth, finance, and technological change.