Dhaka, Aug. 22 -- On August 22, 1904, in the rugged heart of Sichuan, Deng Xiaoping was born - a revolutionary, reformer, and the man later hailed as the "chief architect of China's reform and opening up."

If Mao Zedong gave the Chinese people a nation, it was Deng who gave them prosperity. He rebuilt a war-worn country into the fastest-growing economy of the late 20th century, steering it away from dogma and into pragmatic reform.

Today, nearly three decades after his passing, Deng remains a towering figure, not only for China, but also for nations like Bangladesh that stand at similar crossroads of history.

Deng's leadership was forged in struggle. A communist soldier, a pragmatic statesman, and a visionary reformer, he rose from the...