THIS YEAR'S commemora-tion of the 20th anniver-sary of the fall of the BerlinWall has led many com-mentators to reflect on thewidely diverging fate of communist par-ties in China and the former Soviet bloc.Whereas in Russia and Eastern Europecommunism was consigned almost over-night to the "dustbin of history," in Chinatwo decades of breakneck economicgrowth, a policy of openness to the outsideworld, particularly on business, and con-tinued domestic political control havestrengthened the rule of the Chinese Com-munist Party beyond all expectations. To-day, the CCP controls more resources,enjoys greater domestic acquiescence andcommands far more international respectthan it did in 1989.
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