Communists led by Mao Zedong gained control of China by 1949. After the Communists came to power, they took over most businesses and factories. They also collectivized China's agriculture--that is, they organized the peasants into groups who owned and farmed the land cooperatively. By the late 1960's, Mao's policies had led to serious economic problems.<NP> After Mao's death in 1976, a group of economic reformers led by Deng Xiaoping took control of the Chinese Communist Party. The new leadership allowed individual farm families to sell some crops at farm markets and allowed the formation of small private businesses. The government also reversed its policy of refusing foreign investment. These reforms resulted in substantial economic growth and in an improvement in living standards for many people. But the Communist Party has maintained almost complete control of the country--and it still has the power to order sweeping changes in the people's way of life.
