Did Mao have any effect on what China is like today?

China could not rise to today’s status without Mao. If Mao lived longer than Deng, China may be much better than it is today.

During the Mao era, China is struggling to make a peaceful environment for economic development. There were the Korean War, Vietnam War, Indian border War, and Treasure Island war. World Powers were trying to kill Red China in its infant stage. US-backed Taiwan had been trying to recover the whole Mainland. In 1972, it was Mao opened the door to the West and forced the West to accept Red China as a legitimate country. Mao staged the international environment for China to enter the world economy.

From 1840 to 1949, China was part of the world economy when Western powers had gunboats cruised in the Yangtze River and foreign navy was harbored in Chinese ports. China was not an international player but played by Western powers. For a hundred years, China could not industrialize due to the domination of Western powers on China. Since 1980, China returned back to the world economy as an independent international player. It was Mao who made this transition of China from being played by powers to one of the international players.

Today, China becomes an international player, or power, thanks to Mao.