THEME 2 - Industrial Policies

Question 1

Why was the First Five Year Plan not immediately introduced?

Answer 1

The communists needed to solve the immediate problems;
- Needed to mop up any remnants of nationalist opposition
- Reduce inflation rates that they had inherited
- Redistribute land to appease the peasants
- Korean War had taken high levels of spending in 1950

Question 2

Why did China focus on a Soviet based system?

Answer 2

Soviet Russia was a desirable country to Mao at this point. Mao would lean on USSR for help.
Furthermore, Stalin’s ideas for government had successfully defeated Germany in 1945 and Mao saw it as reasonable for Mao to follow suit.

Question 3

Why was Mao’s job of creating a centralised economy easier than Russia in 1917

Answer 3

There was already some pre-planned ideas towards modernising industry and making the country more centrally planned even under Chiang Kai-Shek.

Question 4

What did the Sino-Soviet Treaty of 1950 provide the PRC with?

Answer 4

• Soviet Advisers came to china to teach them how to run the communist state
• 10,000 civillian technicians brought their knowledge on civil engineering

Question 5

What evidence is there to suggest the sino-soviet treaty was not a ‘gift’ from the USSR?

Answer 5

The Soviet advisers were paid high wages by the chinese for their effort. They were also housed and guarded from Chinese funds.
Russia also agreed to lend China $300 million in return for large parts of their Buillion stocks. These loans were to be paid back with interest

Question 6

. What evidence is there of Soviet influence?

Answer 6

Buildings were erected of the “soviet style” in replacement of classical Chinese buildings. Russian ideas entered education being the only foreign language taught at schools. Russia also took control of much of China’s newspapers and media.
“The soviet unions today is our tomorrow”

Question 7

What were the main features of the First Five Year Plan?

Answer 7

To make the PRC self-sufficient in food and manufacturing.
Targets set from economic planners rather than from consumer demand.
Heavy industry (iron, steel, transport, communications, energy and chemicals) were focused on
New construction projects like the bridge across the Yangtze river helped aid propaganda and show strong successes.

Question 8

When were businesses nationalised within the PRC?

Answer 8

Due to the fear from the 5 antis campaign, the businesses were nationalised in 1956, bringing an end to private ownership. Business owners preferred to get compensation from the state rather than be denounced as a rightist by objecting.W

Question 9

When was the first 5 year plan?

Answer 9

1952 - 57

Question 10

Key statistics of 1st 5YP

Answer 10

Coal 1952 = 68.5m tonnes > 1957 130m tonnes (115% of target)
Steel 1952 = 1.35m tonnes > 1957 5.35m tonnes
(129% of target)

Question 11

What evidence is there that the plan worked?

Answer 11

• Most sectors suceeded in reaching their targets.
• Annual growth rate was 9% per year during the plan
• higher job security and living standards
• population grew from 1949 million to 100 million 1957

Question 12

What were the negative aspects of the first 5 year plan (as well as in the countryside)?

Answer 12

• The figures are unlikely to be reliable as they were often exaggerated to please their superiors
• emphasis on quantity over quality in produce
• There were little literate workers and a lack of students in education
• Many of the managers were purged in the anti campaigns in 1951-52
• competition between private and government ownership for resources
• lack of food in rural areas due to exports to russia to pay off loans

Question 13

What was the ‘Great Leap’ and why was Mao pursuing it?

Answer 13

Mao was impatient at the slow pace of economic progress and anted to modernise China.

Question 14

Why might it be argued that the Second FYP was not a ‘plan’?

Answer 14

The party was now in charge of the economic planners which gave little meaning to the term “plan” as it did not involve any planners.
Local cadres were left to direct the economy and threaten those who were not working hard enough. Targets were constantly being revised to be higher to appease Mao that his “plan” was working.

Question 15

What was the economic thinking for launching the GLF?

Answer 15

Industrialisation depended on agriculture become more productive and efficient to feed the growing industrial workforce. Success in agriculture made Mao more confident that he could push for industrialisation.

Question 16

What evidence is there to suggest Mao was not fully supported in launching the GLF?

Answer 16

Conservatives such as Zhou Enlai and Chen Yun advocated for a more pragmatic “carrot” approach in contrast to Mao’s ideologue approach. They believed that high food producers should be given incentives to work harder.
Mao and other ideologues preferred to simply requisition grain and treat low producers harshly - a more ideological idea.

Question 17

What personal circumstances may have led to the GLF?

Answer 17

Mao had greater confidence to launch the GLF as his collectivisation had been such a success and achieved results quickly. He had gone on a provincial tour in 1958 and had been shown that the country was running well.

Question 18

What political circumstances may have led to the GLF?

Answer 18

Mao had just returned from Moscow and was determined to show the soviet union that he did not require their help anymore. Mao’s idea of developing the GLF as “walking on two feet” (a.k.a developing industry and agriculture alongside eachother) as a good strategy

Question 19

What was decentralisation and how was it intended to work for the GLF?

Answer 19

Economic activity was decentralised from the government as it had been in the 1st 5YP.
This was to give more power to local party officials (cadres) to gain the support of masses. Mao wanted to utilise the power of the peasants to advance quicker.

Question 20

What were the backyard furnaces?

Answer 20

Mao wanted to create as much steel as possible. He raised the target for steel in 1958 to 8 million tonnes. When this target began to seem impossible, he called on the people to help in steel making using backyard furnaces.

Question 21

When were backyard furnaces introduced?

Answer 21

1958

Question 22

When was the 2nd 5 Year plan introduced?

Answer 22

1958 - 62

Question 23

What were the backyard furnaces?

Answer 23

Every family was urged to construct their own backyard furnace and melt down their metal objects to produce “steel”

Question 24

What impact did the backyard furnaces have?

Answer 24

It became a national movement where everyone in every small town and village were producing coal. The night sky was turned red with fires of the kilns.
Sept 1958 - 14% of Steel came from local furnaces
Oct 1958 - 49% of steel came from local furnaces. Many people abandoned their regular activities to take part

Question 25

Why did the backyard furnaces fail?

Answer 25

• lack of workers (as they were focusing on the BF) meant a shortage in food and education was halted. Shock brigades brought in to try to revive peasant harvests.
• The steel being produced was shit. As it was unusable, the authorities would simply take this steel and bury it away.
• Lack of wood used to burn the iron.

Question 26

What were SOEs and what impact did they have on the workforce and the economy?

Answer 26

State-Owned enterprises = enterprises were nationalised and prices were set by the state
Prices, targets and wages were set by the government and although it came with health benefits, there was a lack of incentive to work.
This made SOE very unefficient

Question 27

What evidence is there to suggest some of the new irrigation schemes were a disaster?

Answer 27

Mao wanted to use the masses to complete great construction projects to prove the country’s power of the people.
Many failed however, such as the Three Gate Gorge Dam. Many of the projects only recieved moderate success whilst costing great human and financial costs.
Also, due to irrigation in the soil there was salinisation which made the soil less fertile.

Question 28

What methods were used to carry construction projects out and how did Mao measure success?

Answer 28

Technical issues were often brushes aside in construction to avoid delays. Any doubts that arose to a project would get denounced by Mao and called “trash”

Question 29

Key figures of 2nd 5 Y P?

Answer 29

Coal = 1959 = 290m tonnes > 1962 = 180m tonnes

Question 30

What was the SINO-SOVIET SPLIT and why was it significant for the Chinese economy?

Answer 30

Khrushchev had withdrew his Soviet advisers in 1960 and the SINO-SOVIET SPLIT broke off the pairing of the uSSR with the PRC. China now had now added guidance from USSR anymore.

Question 31

What impact did the lack of planning have?

Answer 31

Many attributed the lack of planning to the downfall of the 2nd 5YP. Mao often relied on intuition which often was not adequate enough over planning.

Question 32

What were the ‘eye-catching successes’?

Answer 32

The succesful completion of Tiananmen Square in Beijing and the new development of nuclear weapons did provide some succeses.
But ultimately the 2nd 5YP was a problem to begin with.

Question 33

What was the Lushan Conference?

Answer 33

It was a meeting called by Mao to asses the effectiveness of the Great Leap Forward.
Expecting some criticism, he even brought his wife Jiang Qing to the conference in case the Shanghai wing of the party were to speak up (Jiang was chummy with them).
No criticism was given other than Peng Dehuai who was quickly isolated and dealt with,

Question 34

What economic impact did the Lushan Conference have?

Answer 34

The conference meant that he GLF would continue at the pace it was at.
Mao had been considering to tone down the GLF (reining in the backyard furnaces) but afterwards, he considered it a success and continued with his policies.

Question 35

What political impact did the Lushan Conference have?

Answer 35

The conference made political difference as it showed that no political rival would dare to speak up against Mao. This made Mao even more dictator-like

Question 36

What did Liu and Deng do once they were put in charge in 1962?

Answer 36

Lui Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping were put in charge in 1962 and immediately began to retreat from the GLF.

Question 37

What were the features of the Third Five Year Plan?

Answer 37

• thousands of inefficient projects were closed down
• communes were broken down
• targets were reset to be more reasonable. they were reviewed yearly.
• financial incentives were brought back into place.
• relaxation on the purge of rightists
• pragmatic approach to planning by Chen Yun
• allowed overseas import to recover economy

Question 38

Why was the January 1962 meeting crucial and significant for the CCP and Mao?

Answer 38

7,000 cadres conference was called by Mao to discuss potential revisionism ( betraying communist principles). Instead, Mao was criticised for the failure of the 2nd 5YP and instead stepped down from head of state. Left Deng and Liu in charge in 1962

Question 39

What were the successes of the Third FYP?

Answer 39

• Agricultural production recovered to 1957 levels
• oil and gas production skyrocketed
• manufactured good produced at higher qualities
• atomic bomb finalised

Question 40

What did the right of the Party argue on how the country should be run?

Answer 40

Pragmatic view that ideological concessions were necessary to recover the economy.
e.g. Liu, Deng, Chen Yun

Question 41

What did the left of the Party argue?

Answer 41

Ideologue view that continuing revolution should be key. Using communist principles to further the country were needed to prevent a more capitalist country. Did not want to destroy the successes of the revolution.

Question 42

What evidence is there of an impending political crisis by the summer of 1962?

Answer 42

Mao condemned Liu and Deng in 1962 after he returned from hiding. Liu and Deng eventually compromised and criticised rural capitalism but still did nothing to stop farmers owning their own private plots of land for profits.