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Mao’s China, 1945–76

Industry and the Five-Year Plan, 1953–57

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 3

Overview

Why heavy industry came first, the Soviet model and its help, the cost of Soviet loans, the industries that grew, the Wuhan bridge, neglected consumer goods, farming left behind and Mao's dislike of the planners.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

How did the first Five-Year Plan follow the Soviet model, and what did Soviet help cost China?

Numbers

What did the first Five-Year Plan achieve by 1957, and where did it fall short?

Key term

Why did Mao make heavy industry the priority from 1953?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Why did Mao make heavy industry the priority from 1953?

    Model answer

    China was overwhelmingly agricultural and its factories had been wrecked by war, and Mao wanted the industrial strength to defend the country.

  2. 2

    Which country's model of planning did China copy?

    Model answer

    The Soviet model: state ownership, central planning and heavy industry before consumer goods.

  3. 3

    Which industries were given the targets to expand fastest?

    Model answer

    Coal, iron and steel, cement, chemicals, electricity and heavy machinery.

  4. 4

    What practical help did the Soviet Union give?

    Model answer

    A large loan, thousands of engineers and advisers, and designs for well over a hundred major industrial projects.

  5. 5

    Why was Soviet support a mixed blessing?

    Model answer

    The loan had to be repaid with interest in food and raw materials, which left China short of both.

  6. 6

    What were the main industrial achievements by 1957?

    Model answer

    Output of coal, steel and electricity rose steeply, with steel production several times higher than in 1952.

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