The rapid transformation of China’s vast population from a primarily agrarian economy into a modern communist society through the process of agriculturalization and industrialization.

Situation

• After Mao Zedong established the ‘People’s Republic of China’ he famously announced: “The Chinese people have stood up.”
• China was one of the world’s poorest countries and did not have an advanced economy.
• China’s economy consisted solely of agricultural and farming skills.
• Previously, China imported all of its industrial products that was needed from the Western World and Japan.

Objectives

• China wanted to be self sufficient when producing industrial goods and completely independent from the Western World and Japan.
• Establish China as a major economic power, no matter what the cost.
• Mao Zedong wanted to transform China from a primarily agrarian economy into a modern communist society.

Assets

• China had more than a million manual labourers.
• Use agricultural goods to purchase power.
• Support of the USSR

Strategy

• China adopted the Soviet five-year methodology.
• It used the USSR knowlege and support to enhance industrial plants and agricultural production.
• China paid back the Russians with agricultural goods.
• Using agriculture as the backbone of China, the great leap forward was attempted so big changes could occur.
• Mao redistributed more than half of chinas property after the violent coup of “Ge Ming”, a revolt that allowed the peasants to expropriate landowners.
• All properties had to be divided in equal measure to avoid the development of an upper class of farmers.
• In order to create an equal society, communes were established in 1958. This system applies all over China.
• China set up approximately 25,000 communes, with 5,000 households each.

Actions

• The people’s ‘Republic of China’ was established on October 1, 1949 by Mao Zedong.
• 1953 -1958, Mao Zedong introduced the five-year methodology.
• 1960 - 1962, World’s biggest famine.
• In 1962, Deng Xiaoping became the reformist leader of China.
• 1966 -76 Mao Zedong set up a cultural revolution.
• Mao Zedong dies along with the cultural revolution in 1976.

Effect

• The GLF was a huge disaster, resulting in the Great Famine.
• To surpass industrial difficulties, Mao called on every labourer to produce steel by building blast furnaces on each farm instead of cultivating their fields to bring in the much-needed crops.
• The expected great leap forward ended with fallow fields and no crops.
• The clearest and most significant result was the death of millions of people. Some historians estimated 30 million deaths, most of them very young children.