Check out the link [1] for a quick intro. Personally I'm not sure that China today is quite like the Soviet Union just before the end of the cold war.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War#Final_years_.281985.E...

I confirm that. In 1989 I talked out a stipend from the enterprise I wished to work for in the USSR. I thought my future is all set. What happened in 1991 was a complete surprise for me, and completely redefined my future.