China's economic growth over the period 1966-1976

China Economic Growth
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China Economic Growth
The Chinese economy is one of the biggest in the world. According to a survey performed by the Dolomite Company in 2016 on the Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, China was ranked the best and major producer of more than half of 550 major products in industries in the world. However, there was a turning point that happened between the years 1966 to 1976 when the country decided to invest heavily in agricultural and industrial sectors (Lu, 2004). The socialist era which saw a commitment by the government in emulating the Soviet Union model of development, and also partnering with it in trade and technology, ensured that China was transformed faster than other developing countries at that time. The country transformed its industrialization from depending majorly on agriculture to depending majorly on manufacturing as its best GDP, contributing platform to the economy (Hoffmann, 1971). There were three stages that the firm went through between 1966 and 1976, and they include the high tide of the cultural revolution, the moist model, and gang of four, which was the last stage of that decade (He, 2017). Therefore, it is important to analyze China’s economic revolution from the tide of the cultural revolution in 1966 to the gang of four in 1976.
The high tide cultural revolution took place in China after Mao, who was China’s communist leader and founder of the People’s Republic of China, alleged that the bourgeois had infiltrated the country and aimed at bringing back capitalism traits. Mao organized factions of young people, especially students, to overthrow the leadership of the communist party as he felt that they started becoming selfish and not caring about the demands of others. The effects of the high tide cultural revolution in China were felt in the urban parts of China as most of the changes that occurred happened to be from modern culture. It is important to note that industries were involved in the processing of mines (Zhang, 2015). Due to continued protests and disruptions of the business activities by students, rural areas received less turmoil as most of the schools were located in urban centers. The service industry was also affected as the turmoil affected transport especially trains. Trucks that carrying Red Guards prevented the transportation of people and raw materials (Bell, 2018). This created a shortage of supplies of food and other essential commodities in the country. Revolutionary committees, on the other hand, had little or no knowledge on how to manage factories that were placed in their hands. Cases of xenophobia also decreased the technological advancement and imports of foreign materials that were boosting the economy, especially the balance of trade of China (Country Studies, 2000). This is because the technicians and scientists were sent to perform labor on farms, and the results after one year was a 14 percent drop in the economic development of the country.
The Maoist Model Era
The Maoist model was adopted after the Cultural Revolution in China led to the formation of a lot of factions that destabilized the economy in the country (Hoffmann, 1971). Chinese citizens were urged to persevere and ensure that they improve the construction of the economy. Fighting the threat of the Soviet Union, which the country's leadership believed was imminent, the country intensified agricultural activities (MacFarquhar, 1997). The model encouraged the use of austerity measures to be able to control the country's spending and reduce significantly capitalism, which had taken a toll on the country. The decentralization of the economic pillars (mostly big industries such as iron, steel, chemical fertilizer, and cement) were encouraged by the state to relocate to the rural areas in a move to take the development of every part of the country.
The adoption of this model brought calmness and a bit of stability in the Chinese urban centers. However, the economy continued to suffer because of the imbalances that happened, especially in the agricultural sector as there was a huge demand for modern agricultural inputs (Lu, 2004). Nevertheless, the country stabilized as colleges and universities started opening, and students concentrated on education, and the government encouraged foreign investment, which saw xenophobia cases reduce significantly. The agriculture industry had suffered and declined significantly, especially in 1972, but this was mainly because of poor climate changes. In January 1975, the government decided to come up with a comprehensive plan to change the economy of the country. In the report called “Fourth National People’s Congress”, the special committee highlighted four ...