How Successful Was the First Five-Year Plan 1952-56? (2a.2) Flashcards
1
Q
When was the first Five Year plan?
A
1952-56
2
Q
Why was it not immediately introduced?
A
- High level of military spending
- Korean war
More immediate problems had to be solved: - Conquer outlying nationalist provinces
- Reduce 1000% inflation
- Land redistribution for peasants
3
Q
Why they used the soviet model?
A
- Mao said in 1949 he would ‘lean to one side’ and align with Russia rather than looking towards West for help
- Centrally planned Soviet system helped Stalin defeat Nazi Germany
4
Q
The nature of Soviet help
A
- Sino-Soviet treaty 1950
- 10,000 civil technicians
- Their high salaries were paid by Chinese, housed at China’s expense
- Russia lent China $300 million, but loans were to be repaid with interest
5
Q
What was the influence of the Soviet Union?
A
- New office blocks/construction projects built in ‘Soviet brutalist’ style
- Russian taught in schools
- Lunch hour pushed back to 3pm to copy Russian practice of having 6 consecutive morning classes
- TASS (Soviet’s news agency) main source of information
6
Q
The plan’s targets
A
- Make PRC self sufficient in food/manufactured goods
- Heavy industry came first
- Channel resources into heavy industries
- Forcing collective farms to sell food at low prices to gov, hoped to keep industrial workers’ wages low
7
Q
Successes
A
- Most sectors of economy succeeded
- Annual growth rate 9% per year
- Urban living standards improved in wages/job security
- Most migrated to cities: pop grew 57 mil in 1949 to 100 mil in 1957
8
Q
Failures
A
- Soviet guidance exposed shortcomings in skill/literacy
- Less than 1/2 under 16s in full time education
- Standard of bureaucratic administration suffered as many Nationalist economic planners driven out in ‘anti’ campaigns of 1951-52
- Competition between private and SOE (state owned enterprises) for resources
- Countryside peasants going short of food as food exported to Russia to pay, sold cheaply to cities to feed urban workers
