The foundations of today's world
In the history of the last century, some years immediately stand out: 1914, 1917, 1918, 1939, 1945, 1968, 1989.
In retrospect, it may be worth having another look at a five-month period from 1978 to 1979. During this short time, a number of events laid the foundations for the way the world works today.
ÌýÌý•Ìý18 December 1978:
China's leader announces the reform and opening up of China's economy. At the time, the announcement receives little notice in the West. But it marks the beginning of the transformation of China from an isolated agrarian society into a global superpower.
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ÌýÌý•Ìý1 January 1979:
The United States and China formal diplomatic relations after US President Jimmy Carter switches recognition to Beijing from Taipei. The between these two countries may define the course of the 21st century.
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ÌýÌý•Ìý1 February 1979:
Ayatollah Khomeini , marking the no-turning-back point of the .
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Relations between Iran and the West come to dominate events for 30 years, provoking the downfall of one US President () and the biggest crisis of another (the in the Reagan years).
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ÌýÌý•Ìý14 April 1979:
The requests helicopters from the USSR. By the end of the year, . The fighters who resist Soviet forces eventually go on to form the nucleus of .
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ÌýÌý•Ìý4 May 1979:
Margaret Thatcher is prime minister of the UK. Her election starts to shift the ground of Western politics and foreshadows the of the US President Ronald Reagan. The current UK and US leaders acknowledge their debt to the .
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Today marks another anniversary from that five-month period.
ÌýÌý•Ìý17 February 1979:
and fights a brief border war. This conflict is inconclusive. But, in retrospect, it marks the last time that China sends troops into a foreign country in anger. This anniversary has barely been marked in China (when asked about it, a foreign ministry official told a briefing that China and Vietnam experienced "an unhappy part of history").
±õ’m 
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