May Essay Flashcards
What did Qing do to growth
Qing hindered growth, due to Cixi’s reactionary stance
Who did promote growth if it wasn’t the Qing
Li Honghzhang and Shen Xuanhuai promoted growth through the Self-Strengthening Movement
What did SSM allow?
Industrial development though the Tianjin Arsenal, Fuzhou shipyards and establishment of coal mines
What did the SSM set the foundations for?
economic growth to occur later in the time period
Example that SSM set the foundations
The work of Sheng Xuanhuai in founding a modern banking system in the 1890s
What did SSM promote?
The importance of economic growth for the protection of China’s international position following defeat in the Opium Wars
Who encouraged the growth of a modern financial and commercial infrastructure in China
Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong
What did Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong encourage?
The growth of a modern financial and commercial infrastructure in China
What was established which drove growth?
mines and factories, the formation of the first joint stock company in China, the building of railways
What was the movement confined to
largely confined to the coastal cities
Issue with the SSM as an ideology
not far reaching and faced opposition from the court ensuring their influence was challenged and limited
What did the movement encourage
use of western scientific ideas and the employment of western technologists and engineers for the first time in China
Subject of para 2 with date
Ideology of the May the Fourth Movement in 1919
How did 4MM differ from previous calls for economic reform?
Calls like the Self-Strengthening Movement, had been limited by need to work within China’s traditions which this movement rejected
What did 4MM encourage
students to go abroad to study modern scientific, industrial and economic thought and to consider the emergence of Japan as a template for China’s future.
What did 4MM adopt and give examples
Adopted western ideas such as mass literacy, women’s liberation
Who drove growth in 4MM
Western nations with their innovative ideas which inspired the Chinese
But it was the Chinese themselves who sought the growth
What did 4MM influence the development of
communism in China and hence the economic policies followed by Mao
Issue with Mao
Hindered economic growth through his failed Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution
Why did 4MM restrict growth?
largely a movement of intellectuals and students confined to China’s largest cities
What was 4MM ideology heavily rooted in
Self-Strengthening Movement which was driven by Chinese political leaders
Subject of 3rd para with date, who drove growth and who held it back
In Maoist China from 1949-1976 it was the USSR who drove economic growth in China and instead the Chinese political leader, Mao, held China back.
What did the USSR enable with date?
The First 5 Year Plan 1952-57 to take place
How did the USSR enable the First 5 Year Plan 1952-57 to take place
Sino-Soviet treaty in 1950 brought 10,000 advisors, technology and loans
What did Soviet support make Mao do?
Initially follow the Soviet model of communism from 1949
What did the F5YP develop?
heavy industry as coal, steel, trucks, chemicals all exceeded their targets
What was constructed under F5YP and what did this enable
Almost 600 new industrial plants enabling electric power production to triple and steel to quadruple
What was China’s annual growth rate under F5YP
Over 9%
How did Mao contribute to the plan
Accepting Soviet support and slashing defence and administration budgets to pay for economic development
Issue with F5YP
China became highly dependant on the USSR
What has to be paid for and what was this not a sign of
Over 150 factories and 10,000 Soviet experts had to be paid for by raiding peasant savings and requisitioning food which is not a sign of economic growth
How did Chinese political leaders hold back the Chinese economy
Mao and the failure of the Great Leap Forward which was a rejection of the Soviet model
What did Mao preside over
A massive fall in inflation in the years 1949-51 through expenditure cuts, tax rises and currency reform which boosted economic growth
Why was Mao not entirely negative
the Great Leap Forward mobilised the whole of the country in an effort to modernise
Other benefits of Great Leap Forward
Some sectors saw initial growth while works to encourage irrigation had long-term economic benefits
What did Mao prioritise and what did this lead to?
Put idealism and ideology before practical economic considerations with the speed and manner of collectivisation led to a fall in agricultural production and contributed to eventual famine
What did Mao do to develop trade?
made steps towards a better relationship with Nixon in 1972
Subject of para 4 with date
Deng Xiaoping created a superpower from 1979
What did Deng initiate, when and what happened
Deng initiated a visit to the USA in 1979 and signed trade contracts with the US and reached agreements on scientific and technological exchange
What happened with the US China trade
USA in a trade deficit to China in 1985
Deng and IMF
Deng’s compliance with the IMF rebalanced the economy in 1980
Deng and World Bank
The World Bank disconnected business from state control and more efficient taxation
China was a what centre, give fact with date
Was a manufacturing centre with $10billion to $24billion worth of exports 1978 to 1985
Trade increase and why
Deng’s partnerships with other groups like the EU and Japan meant trade increased from $1b to $7b in 1978-1985
Deng’s growth through multiple sectors
four modernisations in agriculture, industrialisation, defence and science and technology
Impact of 4 modernisations
saw an improvement of living standards and urbanisation allowing a mobilisation of workers
Economic growth rate under four modernisations
9.6%
Issue with Deng’s policies
lower wages due to devalued currency and a growing gap between rich and poor but these negatives did not prevent a driver of economic growth.
What did Deng introduce
special economic zones in 1980 and the town and village enterprises in 1984.
What did Deng create and not compromise
growth whilst not fully comprising Chinese communist economy through a free market economy controlled by the state
What were Deng’s reforms influenced by?
western ideas and relied on scientific and technological knowledge from abroad but Deng is the one who implemented them
How did Soong give confidence to domestic savers and foreign investors?
Regulation of the banking system and creation of the Chinese Development Finance Cooperation
What was Soong instrumental in the creation of?
A number of national bodies that channelled capital to business in the promotion of economic growth in China
When was the China Development Finance Corporation set up?
1934
How did Soong boost government revenue?
Anti-corruption and tax avoidance programmes and was able to balance the budget giving further confidence to business investors
Was Soong’s influence big?
. Brief only lasting from 1928-33
. His measures did not noticeably improve the performance of China’s economy and rates of growth were not significant
What was Soong unable to tackle?
Corruption within the government, underdevelopment of education and extortionate military spending
What happened to the economy under the GMD?
Stunted with low wages, strikes due to poor safety and little revenue through taxes like Corporation tax
