Chinese Economic Reform Two years after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, it became apparent to many of China's leaders that economic reform was necessary. During his tenure as China's premier, Mao had encouraged social movements such as the "Great Leap Forward" and the "Cultural Revolution" which had had as their bases ideas such as serving the people and maintaining the class struggle. By 1978 China’s leaders were searching for a solution to serious economic problems. Hua Guofeng, the man who had succeeded Mao Zedong as CCP (Chinese Communist Party) leader after Mao's death, had demonstrated a desire to continue the ideolog