| By: |
Tisdell, Clement A. |
| Abstract: |
The attainment of self-reliance (zi li geng sheng) is an important goal for
China. However, approaches to achieving it have altered greatly since the
People’s Republic was established in 1949. Following the split between China
and the Soviet Union in 1960, Mao Zedong claimed that China could achieve this
goal by promoting economic self-sufficiency at the national level as well as
at subnational levels. This approach resulted in a considerable economic
burden for China. While national economic self-sufficiency probably was forced
on China by the hostility of foreign nations towards it, subnational
self-sufficiency was not. Following the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 and the
eventual rise to power of Deng Xiaoping, China’s market reforms began in 1978.
With the introduction of the household responsibility system in agriculture,
China gave up relying on communes and collectives for its agricultural
production. The market reforms began in rural areas but were only slowly
extended to urban areas because of some opposition to some politbureau numbers
to the market reforms. The process of the market reforms since 1978 is
outlined with some attention being given to the political hurdles involved in
achieving these reforms. As a result of these reforms, the goal of subnational
economic self-sufficiency has well and truly been abandoned and national
self-sufficiency is no longer practised. These changes have brought new
economic risks for China and the Chinese people. The benefit, however, has
been greater economic growth and the enhanced global status of China. While
economic self-sufficiency is no longer an over-riding goal for China, one part
of zi li geng sheng is still very important for it nationally, namely, to
control one’s destiny, that is, to be in charge of one’s own affairs, goals
and decision-making. |
| Keywords: |
China, Deng Xiaoping, economic self-reliance, economic self-sufficiency, Mao Zedong, market reforms, political economy, Richard Nixon, United States., International Development, Political Economy, O2, P21, P31, P52, |
| Date: |
2013–01 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uqsese:142567&r=cis |