In Retrospect: Deng Xiaoping's Great Leap Outward (Time, 1979)

Shortly after the U.S. announced its rapprochement with the People’s Republic of China last December after nearly 30 years of bone-deep hostility, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance declared: “A new era is upon us.” But the idea of “a new era” is a hard one to grasp, and despite acres of newsprint, miles of film footage and endless commentaries, nothing is likely to drive home the reality of it all