The book talk series has been an ongoing initiative for several years, aimed at sharing significant books and translations on contemporary China with both the academic community and the general public. Wu Jinglian’s A Modern Economic History of China, 1956-2020: Reform and Transformation, Its Historical-Structural Development encompasses over 70 years of China’s economic history, covering the transition from the planned economy of the early People’s Republic of China to the market-oriented reforms and comprehensive opening-up. Wu, a key theorist and leader of market-oriented reforms since the 1980s, is renowned as a representative figure in socialist market economy theory. The book examines economic models ranging from those of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin to modern economic theories, and discusses historical examples from Soviet and Eastern European reforms to East Asian cases, up to China’s realities in the 2020s. It also delves into China’s sectoral reforms, including rural, enterprise, and financial reforms, with meticulous analysis. The book talk presentation will be led by one of the translators, Hyunseok Kim from the University of Seoul, offering an insightful overview of China’s reform and opening-up economy.