The Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, held in Beijing from December 18 to 22, 1978, is a turning point in the history of both the Communist Party of China and the country. The meeting marked China's entry into a new era of socialist modernization and construction. In the following six years, China embarked on major economic structural reforms. From left to right in the photo are: Deng Xiaoping, Huaguofeng, Ye Jianying, Li Xiannian. [File photo]