Introduction

• Four modernizations of – agriculture, industry, science and technology, and national defense

• Goal was to turn China into a leading modern state by the year 2000

• Written into the party constitution (11^th Congress, 1977)

• Witten into the state constitution (5^th National People’s Congress, 1978)

• By writing into the constitutions, it should not be affected by changes in leadership

The Ten-Year Plan

• “a grandiose ten-year modernization programme for 1976-1985”

The Industrial Sector

• Annual rate of industrial growth was set at 10 percent

• Aim to complete 120 major projects

  • 10 iron and steel complexes, 6 oil and gas fields, 30 power stations, 8 coal mines, 9 nonferrous metal complexes, 7 major turn railways and 5 key harbours

Steel

• Production decreased under the Gang of Four despite a comeback in the early 1970s

• Called for increased production to 60m tons by 1985 and 180m tons by 1999

• Major projects:

  • Steel complex at Chi-Tung to produce 10m tons/year under contract with German firms

  • Steel complex at Pao-shan under contract with Japanese firms to produce 6m

Oil

• Vast advances in 1960s with new discoveries and establishment of the Ta-Ching Oil field in Manchuria, the Sheng-li Oil Fied in Shantung and the Ta-kang Oil Field in Tientsin

• Called for construction of 10 new oil and gas fields costing $60bn

Coal

• Provided 70% of China’s primary energy supply but most of the mines were small and old

• Called for 8 new mines along with renovation of existing ones

• Aimed to double production to 900m tons per year

Electric Power

• Production of electricity was the weakest link in the modernization plan

• In 1978 China ranked 9^th in electricity production, but per capita consumption was extremely low, below both India and Pakistan

• Called for construction of 30 power stations, 20 of which were to be hydropower

  • To increase production by 6 to 8 million kw per year

    • But was far short of that which was required

• Major projects:

  • 2.7 million kw, Ko-hou-pa hydropower station on the Yangtze

  • 1.6 million kw, Lung-yang Gorge Station on the Yellow River

Agricultural Sector

• Since 1949 had consistently received less investment than industry and defense

• Cultural Revolution drove agriculture to the brink of bankruptcy

• Growth of grain production was only about equal to the population growth plus the increase in grain requirements for industrial and other uses

• Called for maximizing farm production through mechanization, electrification, irrigation and higher utilization of chemical fertilizers

• Aims:

  • Increase gross agricultural product by 4-5% per annum

  • Increase food output to 400 million tons by 1985

  • Mechanization of 85% of major farming tasks

  • Establishment of 12 commodity and food base areas throughout China

• New guidelines:

  • The “production team” was replaced by the “production brigade”

  • Principle “to each according to his work”

    • i.e. more pay for more work

  • Encouragement of “sideline production”

Scientific Modernizations

• Called for approaching the 1970 scientific levels of advanced nations in various fields

• Increasing professional scientific researchers to 800,000

• Developed up-to-date centres for scientific experiments

• Identified 108 items in 27 fields as key projects for research

• It was hoped that by 1985 China would be only ten years behind the most advanced nations

Military Modernization

• Chinese military technology remained some 20 to 30 years behind the West

  • Exceptions were nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles

• Troops were well trained, highly motivated, and politically indoctrinated

  • But equipped with woefully inadequate weapons

• Unspectacular Chinese invasion of Vietnam in 1979

• A British source put China’s 1978 defense spending at 7-10% of the GNP

• Estimated to cost $300 billion to modernize all the military by 1985

  • Would require massive infusions of foreign capital and equipment

    • Therefore military modernization was given a...

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