ON October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong stood in Beijing and proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Seventy-seven years later, the transformation of China is difficult to ignore. A country that was overwhelmingly poor and predominantly rural at its founding has become one of the world’s major economic, industrial, technological and infrastructure powers. Yet the most important story about China is not found in the skylines of Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen. It is not only in the high-speed trains, modern airports, factories or technological advances. The deeper story is what successive generations of Chinese leadership have sought to do to improve living standards and extend development beyond the major cities. For Zambia, that experience deserves serious study....