ip of the Chinese
             Communist Party in 1978. To a great extent, the issue of economic reform
             became politicized as the issue was used as a means by Deng Xiaoping to
             attain the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. Mao's successor, Hua
             Guofeng, had "tried to prove himself a worthy successor to Mao by draping
             himself in the mantle of Maoist tradition. His approach to economic
             development was orthodox Maoism with an up-to-date, international twist"
             (Shirk 35). This approach was tied heavily to the development of China's
             oil reserves. "[W]hen [in 1978] estimates of the oil reserves were revised
             downward[,] commitments to import plants and expand heavy industry could
             not be sustained" (Shirk 35). Deng took advantage of this economic crisis
             to discredit Hua and aim for leadership of the party. "Reform policies
             became Deng's platform against Hua for post-Mao leadership" (Shirk 36).
             Given this history of economic reform, it is evident that "under the
             present system economic questions are necessarily political questions"
             ...