Mao ruled China for the period from 1949 to 1976. During his leadership, Mao oversaw several initiatives that aimed to put across the progress of the country. Several of these revolutionary changes captured the attention of the media and received intensive debate from professionals and members of the Republic. Among the initiatives that received media attention is the five-year plan that was published in the first week of August 1955. The information in the extracts of the China Mainland Press indicated that the plan was drafted to happen between the years 1953 to 1957 (Pong, 2009). The five-year plan was an initiative of social and economic development and reflected the steps that the country was supposed to take to ensure progress of the people. The Communist Party of China shaped the economy through the plenary sessions by the national congresses and the central committee. The party takes a leading role in ensuring that there are relevant principles and solid foundations of ensuring the existence of socialism in China, launching reforms, setting growth strategies and economic development targets (Liao, 1954). Planning forms major characteristics of the socialist economies and a plan that is established to cover the whole country requires detailed guidelines for the economic development if all regions are to grow on the same trend.
The leadership of China under Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai among other leaders was fully prepared to embark on a program that incorporated strategies for economic growth and socialization. To realize this objective, the leadership through its several departments such as the central committee had to develop a plan that was to ensure the country was placed on an upward growth trend. As such, to realize this objective, the leadership of the country adopted the Soviet economic model. The basis of this model was on the state ownership as is the case with the modern sector, ensuring the existence of the major collective units in the fields of agriculture, and having a centralized economic planning system in place. The approach of the Soviet to the economic development is highlighted in the first five-year plan covering the periods of 1953 to 1957. The plan highlighted several key areas that would help China in establishing a foundation for its development. One of the major components of the plan was to ensure the construction of 694 medium-sized and large industrial projects with the Soviet Union assisting in the construction of 156 units. The objective of these industrial projects was to ensure a firm foundation for the socialist industrialization. The project was designed to make sure that the country would establish and develop agricultural cooperative for the producers that would help in the socialist objective of transforming the agricultural industry as well as handicraft industries. These projects were also aimed at ensuring that the capitalist and the commerce industry are on the track of the state capitalism (United States, 1950). Putting the resources under the state capitalism would ensure that the country is in a position to undertake the socialist transformation of commerce and the private industry.
The accumulated capital in the sector of capital accumulation amounted to 55 billion Yuan and the increments in the fixed assets amounted to 46 billion Yuan. As such, this was an increment of about 1.9 times more than was at the end of 1952. By the end of the first five-year plan –period, about 595 of these projects had been completed, which consequently projected the economic growth of China to higher levels. There was a significant increase in the gross value of the industrial products. The period also saw an increase in the steel production with the sector almost coming closer to the production realized in the United States (United States, 1956). The gross domestic product increased significantly with the output of the heavy industry, increasing from 26.4% to 48.4% in the year 1957 while the agriculture industry grew from 30% in 1949 to 56.5% by the end of the first five-year plan under the leadership of Mao. Grain production was very high that they surpassed the set targets that were set out in the plan.
However, there were significant problems that emerged during this period. One of the major problems was the fact that the agricultural production was unable to keep pace with the industrial production. As reflected in the Soviet Union, the primary objective of the plan was to ensure a high rate of economic growth. The main emphasis on achieving this goal was the industrial development with a concentration on capital-intensive technology and heavy industry. The agricultural sector was not given much attention as stated in the initial plan, leaving the industry growing at a lower rate than the industrial sector. The planners of the Soviet Union assisted their Chinese counterparts in developing the plan. As such, there were a large number of Soviet professionals who assisted in the development and the installation of massive industrial facilities that included plants and all the parts were purchased from the Soviet Union (Zhongguo, Gong, Chan, Dang., & Deng, 1956). In the period, the government control increased because every sector in the economy had some form of government intrusion. However, this was in line with state capitalism, and it ensured that there was an equitable distribution of resources among the population.
The agricultural industry also experienced extensive organizational changes. The authorities in the country encouraged farmers to organize themselves into cooperative farming starting in the year 1953. The aim of the cooperatives was to improve the efficiency of agriculture, facilitate the process of mobilizing agricultural resources, and increase access to the agricultural products by the government. The traditional family way of farming was not enough to bankroll the ambitious industrialization projects established by the government (Zhongguo, Gong, Chan, Dang, & Deng, 1956). As such, this forced the specialists in the agricultural practices to encourage a paradigm shift in the process of farming. The proposed changes were meant to put the small scale farmers into cooperatives to increase the farm yields. Farmers who engaged in subsistence agriculture began to raise and sell livestock with the earnings from the increased surplus in grain. Farmers were to start as small cooperatives and were to benefit, according to the size of the land they contributed to the cooperatives. In addition to the land, the farmers shared income, according to the amount of labor they provided. These arrangements of cooperatives decreased the private ownership of land in the country. The formation of cooperatives started at a moderate pace, but later accelerated at a high rate. By the end of 1957, an approximate of 93.5% of the farm households in the country had joined producer cooperatives (Guillermaz, 1976). The objective of the cooperative strategy in the farming sector was focused on meeting the deficits experienced in the industry because agricultural production was lagging behind as compared to industrial development.
The first five-year plan was successful in promoting the economic agenda of the country and more so in the areas that were emphasized by the development strategy of the Soviet-style of governance. A solid foundation was created in the sectors of heavy industry. The major industries of coal mining, steel manufacturing, electricity generation, machine building, and cement production were expanded and substantial technological investment put in place. Thousands of mining and industrial enterprises were constructed in this period. Despite the lack of state investment in the agricultural sector, agricultural produce increased with a 4% point each year (Guillermaz, 1976). The increment was achieved through the gains realized in the efficiency brought about in the agricultural sector with the formation of cooperatives.
Apart from the loan obtained from the Soviet Union to undertake construction of most of the projects, China further received assistance from U.S.S.R. The funding received from U.S.S.R was not in the form of a loan, but an aid, given to spur the economic growth and development in the country. For the purpose of acquiring capital, the country had to nationalize the banking system and consequently made use of credit policies and discriminatory tax to pressure the owners of the private businesses to sell their companies (Pong, 2009). If the private owners would not prefer to sell their enterprises they were allowed an opportunity to convert them into joint private-public companies. By the end of 1956, there was no single private company in China. Other trades such as the handicrafts were joined into cooperatives.
The major success story of the step taken by Mao leadership is the undertakings that focused on industrial development. Transforming a group of people from an agrarian society and making them an industrial society is a critical step in ensuring economic and social change. The process involves an extensive re-organization of the economy for the purpose of engaging in manufacturing and production. The economics of such a move is that when the income for an industrial worker rises, there will be an expansion of the market of consumer goods and services (Liao, 1954). As such, it further possesses a transformative effect as an increase in demand for goods and services implies a growth in the industry that provides these goods and services. Therefore, the increase in income is an incentive for industrial investment and by extension economic growth.
Early industrialization in China happened under the leadership of Mao and was accelerated by the development strategy initiated by the government. An activity that received greater attention during this period was the construction of an advanced and modern state industry. In line with the development blueprint that was borrowed from the Soviets, the production of steel became one of the major yardsticks that continually increased growth in other industries (Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League., 1956). Steel production was necessary as the metal produced was used in the construction, making the sector more valuable for the industrialization agenda of the country.
During the leadership of Mao, there were great changes experienced in the lives of the rural Chinese. The changes came after the introduction of mandatory collectivization of the agriculture sector. The prohibition of private farming implied that any person who engaged in it was labeled an anti-revolutionary and would always be subjected to state victimization. Restrictions that were imposed on the rural people were enforced through a process of social pressure and public struggle sessions (Guillermaz, 1976). However, the process of rural industrialization, which was a top priority of the industrialization process, did not see the light of the day due to the mistakes that were made in the Great Leap Forward. Mao’s leadership strategy was aimed at transforming the country to reach greater heights in economic and social development. The leadership strategy was based on a target that the leader sought to achieve. The approach was borrowed from the countries that were seen as successful in the neighborhood and hence was based on a proven record (China, 1956). The agenda of creating a socialist society was to ensure that development is universal across the regions of the country. As such, the strategy was also focused on ensuring that every individual worked to achieve the overall goal of industrialization as set out in the first five-year plan.
As a conclusion, first five-year plan of China was a groundbreaking strategy under the leadership of Mao, who took the leadership of the country from 1949 to 1976. The basis of the plan was the socialist system of economy, which was being practiced in the USSR. The USSR played an imperative role in the formulation of the plan and provision of the required resources, such as ideology, human resource, and financial aid. Primarily the Five Year plan focused on enhancing the social and economic development of the country. However, two main sectors, which included the industrial and agricultural sector, were the primary point of focus because they profoundly influenced the economic and social well-being of the country. As a socialist state, the country adopted state capitalism where the state controlled nearly all sectors of the economy. As such, the government encouraged the formation of cooperatives, where farmers were required to integrate their land and production. On the other hand, USSR provided significant resources, such as loans, and grants to aid the country’s industrial sector, which experienced significant growth. Additionally, USSR provided the support that would enhance the sustainability of the industry through the provision of highly trained personnel that trained Chinese nationals. The formation of cooperatives in the agricultural sector also played an important role because the industry started to experience significant growth. The basis of the five-year plan is seen as among the major revolutionary changes that formed the basis of China’s rise as a global economic power.
References
Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League. (1956). First five year plan of the Chinese Communists. Taipei: publisher not identified.
China. (1956). First five-year plan for development of the national economy of the People's Republic of China in 1953-1957. Peking: Foreign Languages Press.
Guillermaz, J. (1976). The Chinese Communist Party in power, 1949-1976. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press.
Liao, K. (1954). From Yenan to Peking: The Chinese People's War of Liberation, from reconstruction to first five-year plan. Peking: Foreign Languages Press.
Pong, D. (2009). Encyclopedia of modern China. Farmington Hills, MI: Charles Scribner's Sons/Gale Cengage Learning.
United States. (1950). Index to Survey of China mainland press. Hong Kong: The Consulate.
United States. (1956). Index to Survey of China mainland press, Extracts from China mainland magazines, and Current background. Hong Kong: American Consulate General.
Zhongguo gong chan dang., & Deng, X. (1956). The constitution of the Communist Party of China: Report on the revision of the constitution of the Communist Party of China. Peking: Foreign Languages Press.
