Anne Stevenson-Yang characterizes China’s history as a cyclical pattern of rising and crashing expectations, where eras of opening to the West—such as the 1890s and 1979—are inevitably followed by severe closures. She suggests that the current era represe

Anne Stevenson-Yang characterizes China’s history as a cyclical pattern of rising and crashing expectations, where eras of opening to the West—such as the 1890s and 1979—are inevitably followed by severe closures. She suggests that the current era represents another downturn in this cycle, where the excitement and prospects previously celebrated by the international community are now being "smashed back down" as the country closes itself off again.
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