- 2 days ago
- #china
- #chinafactory
- #decodingchina
Understanding China requires a holistic framework. Otherwise, you won't know which China you're talking about.
Even with contemporary China—the People's Republic since 1949—a comprehensive understanding of China is crucial.
Contemporary China's development can be divided into five main periods:
1949-1978
1979-1991
1992-2002
2003-2012
2012-now
When did China's miracle begin? Not in 1979, but in 1949.
Western descriptions of China often begin with 1979, depicting the starting point of China's development. This approach attempts to attribute China's development to the West, or so-called "capitalism," thereby devaluing China's socialist elements.
This is, of course, a flawed description. 1949 was the year China truly started from scratch. By 1979, China was not an ordinary "developing country" or a "poor country," but a potential nation with a relatively complete overall industrial framework, especially a heavy industry framework—an "outlier" among developing countries.
So how was China's economic foundation established between 1949 and 1979?
It was built through two waves of industrialization: the 156 Projects that began in the early 1950s—a gift from Russia (the Soviet Union); and the 43 Projects that emerged in the 1970s—petrochemical, synthetic fiber, and fertilizer industry projects from the West (Japan, West Germany, the United States, and other European countries).
#china #chinafactory #decodingchina
00:00 Introduction to the series and China's development framework
00:27 The importance of understanding China's historical context
01:13 Five key periods of modern China's development
02:12 Major political milestones and their significance
03:18 Revised periodization of China's development phases
04:02 Overview of China's development from 1949 to 2024
04:47 The influence of globalization on China's growth
06:58 China's role in the new global geopolitical landscape
08:44 China's strategic vision for national renaissance
10:57 Demographic challenges and economic strategies
12:05 The industrialization phases of China (1949-1979)
13:17 Industrialization in the early years: 1949-1979
17:34 The second wave of industrialization in the 1970s
20:02 Self-sufficiency and technological development in China
22:08 China's outlier status and achievement by 1979
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🌍 @ThinkBRICS_de | @ThinkBRICS_es | @ThinkBRICS_pt
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⚠️ Educational content. Public sources. Not official advice. Verify independently. Fair use.
Even with contemporary China—the People's Republic since 1949—a comprehensive understanding of China is crucial.
Contemporary China's development can be divided into five main periods:
1949-1978
1979-1991
1992-2002
2003-2012
2012-now
When did China's miracle begin? Not in 1979, but in 1949.
Western descriptions of China often begin with 1979, depicting the starting point of China's development. This approach attempts to attribute China's development to the West, or so-called "capitalism," thereby devaluing China's socialist elements.
This is, of course, a flawed description. 1949 was the year China truly started from scratch. By 1979, China was not an ordinary "developing country" or a "poor country," but a potential nation with a relatively complete overall industrial framework, especially a heavy industry framework—an "outlier" among developing countries.
So how was China's economic foundation established between 1949 and 1979?
It was built through two waves of industrialization: the 156 Projects that began in the early 1950s—a gift from Russia (the Soviet Union); and the 43 Projects that emerged in the 1970s—petrochemical, synthetic fiber, and fertilizer industry projects from the West (Japan, West Germany, the United States, and other European countries).
#china #chinafactory #decodingchina
00:00 Introduction to the series and China's development framework
00:27 The importance of understanding China's historical context
01:13 Five key periods of modern China's development
02:12 Major political milestones and their significance
03:18 Revised periodization of China's development phases
04:02 Overview of China's development from 1949 to 2024
04:47 The influence of globalization on China's growth
06:58 China's role in the new global geopolitical landscape
08:44 China's strategic vision for national renaissance
10:57 Demographic challenges and economic strategies
12:05 The industrialization phases of China (1949-1979)
13:17 Industrialization in the early years: 1949-1979
17:34 The second wave of industrialization in the 1970s
20:02 Self-sufficiency and technological development in China
22:08 China's outlier status and achievement by 1979
🌐 https://thinkbrics.world
🌍 @ThinkBRICS_de | @ThinkBRICS_es | @ThinkBRICS_pt
🎥 @ThinkBRICSChronicles | @BRICSbusiness
📰 Newsletter: thinkbrics.substack.com
☕ Support: buymeacoffee.com/ThinkBRICS
✅ Subscribe: youtube.com/@ThinkBRICS?sub_confirmation=1
⚠️ Educational content. Public sources. Not official advice. Verify independently. Fair use.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello, everyone. This is Jianlian, our series Decoding China. Welcome back.
00:05So today we will start a new episode.
00:08I'm thinking that it's very important for us to launch a totally sub-series
00:14which basically covers the whole process of modern China's development process
00:18exactly from the year when People's Republic was founded, from 1949.
00:24So that when you're talking about China, so you understand which China you're talking to.
00:28Because I found that today China, of course, is a heated topic.
00:33But many people, no matter in the Western world or in the developing country,
00:38when I talk about China, it's some kind of abstract concept.
00:42And you don't know that what you're talking about.
00:45And without knowing the framework of Chinese development,
00:50you just like looking into some very details,
00:53but you don't know where it's come from and why it's like this.
00:56So in China, we have an old saying.
01:00We call it that Gangju Muzang.
01:01It means that with the main framework in order,
01:04so everything detailed becomes clear.
01:06So in this way, that is very important to understand,
01:10at least for modern China since 1949,
01:13how many main steps, main periods that there are
01:18for the political economic development.
01:20and what is the main character for each of the stage
01:25and what is the major achievements.
01:27And also, hence, derivatively,
01:29why China adopts some kinds of foreign relationship strategy
01:32and what is China's position in the world.
01:34So in this, with this framework,
01:37you know that which China you're talking about.
01:39because even since 1949 with some 20 years
01:44or even less than 20 years or 10 years as a stage,
01:49each stage China is quite different from each other.
01:53So let me start it here.
01:56So basically, I plan to use about five sessions
02:00to tell you about the main whole framework of China
02:04so you can get to learn what China is
02:08through these five episodes.
02:10So the modern China or the People's Republic of China
02:13after 1949, under today's ruling party,
02:16there are such major, firstly, political milestone year,
02:221949, 1979, and 2012.
02:26And then I think also 1992, 2003,
02:29which I mentioned in previous sessions,
02:31and 2020 may become an important year
02:35in a sense of economy.
02:38So actually, when I was young,
02:41when I was educated in including my primary school,
02:45middle school, and even universities
02:46in the early 21st century,
02:48I was told that modern China
02:51was composed by two periods
02:53because I was born in the 1980s.
02:55So the two periods distinction is
02:58the milestone is 1979.
03:01the year, the boundary year is 1979.
03:06So 1949 to 1979, and 1979 to now,
03:11it was labeled as pre-reform and opening up,
03:15and post-reform and opening up periods.
03:17So now, from 2017,
03:20the Chinese official media's expression has changed.
03:24It now has become third period,
03:261949 to 1979,
03:281979 to 2012,
03:302012 to now.
03:31So 1949 to 1979,
03:36it basically is called Mao's period,
03:39although he passed away in 1976.
03:42And from 1979 to 2012,
03:44it's called historical periods
03:47of reform and opening up.
03:49And the year from 2012 to now,
03:51of course,
03:51it's now the current leader,
03:53come to power.
03:54It's called the new period,
03:55with the whole name of socialists,
03:58with Chinese characters.
04:01Below, we will from the perspective of national development to see how China goes to today.
04:07So with adding the year of some milestone years in economic sense,
04:13I will summarize the more than 75 years of China's founding.
04:19It was mainly composed by the following periods from 1949 to 1979.
04:24It's Mao's period,
04:26and it is foundation years for China's development and early periods of industrialization.
04:31From 1979 to 1991,
04:34it is earliest years of reform and opening up.
04:37We can summarize it as 1980s,
04:39a long 1980s.
04:40And from 1992 to 2002,
04:43this is the period that China is most likely the Southeast Asian development model.
04:49We can call this the 1990s.
04:51And from the year 2003,
04:53which I just mentioned in previous episodes,
04:55that the marking years of China's contemporary China's development model was created,
05:01from 2003 to 2012,
05:03it is an explosive growth period of Chinese economy,
05:07and also the forming periods of contemporary China's economy model.
05:12From the year 2012 to 2020,
05:15so this is the period of our current leader Xi Jinping come to power,
05:19and this is the rapid transition period
05:22to a quality upgrading of our economic development period,
05:26and also is accompanied by the fundamental change
05:30between the relationship between China and the United States.
05:34And from the COVID year 2020 to now,
05:36it is quite similar.
05:38I mean, the policy level is quite consistent with previous periods,
05:41I mean, since 2012.
05:43But with the accelerated evolution of the international geopolitical situation,
05:50so the economic framework,
05:53economy destiny,
05:55our target also is experiencing ongoing some big change.
06:00and also above different development periods,
06:05it is also related to the global situation,
06:09particularly since the 1980s,
06:11it is closely related to the last rounds of globalization,
06:16which started in the 1980s.
06:18For example, in general, from the year of 1979 to 2012,
06:24China, we're following the global trends at this period,
06:28and we grasp the opportunity
06:31to bring up by these ties of globalization,
06:34of course, which was led by the United States,
06:36and we accelerate our development,
06:39and we release our potential productivity.
06:42And this globalization come to its peak on the year of 2008,
06:46and basically 2008 financial crisis,
06:49start from Lehman Brothers,
06:50and starting from U.S. financial markets,
06:53this is the starting point of the end of globalization.
06:57And from 2008 to now,
06:59it's already 18 years,
07:01it's forming years of new geopolitical situation,
07:06and global, you know,
07:09different power distribution.
07:11Among it, the biggest variety is China.
07:16So China fundamentally changed its role globally.
07:20In the previous globalization,
07:23this globalization was led by the United States.
07:26And China was said to be the little brothers or little partners of the USA.
07:31So that is why I mentioned that in the year of 2000,
07:34Clinton was never worried about China,
07:36because China's nominal GDP is on a fraction of the United States.
07:40And also, if you say about GDP per capita,
07:43it's also, you know, very, very small.
07:45But an American treated China as a passive role.
07:50And America greatly enjoyed China's roles of producers,
07:55you know,
07:55they also outsourced many of global production to China,
07:58and they enjoyed great material surplus from China.
08:03China basically served as a servant.
08:04And after 2008,
08:07the, I should say,
08:09the, ourself,
08:11rose of,
08:12how to say that,
08:13more,
08:14with the initiative forces,
08:17of the global role of China has gradually shaping,
08:20and it accelerated,
08:22after 2014 and 2016,
08:24actually,
08:25related to the issues of Crimea,
08:28Russia,
08:29Russia,
08:29because China decided to make our own policy,
08:32not following the West.
08:33And more and more clear,
08:34China treated ourselves as a civilization state,
08:38or civilization level country.
08:40So it's a gigantic country.
08:42And our,
08:42our targeting,
08:43our,
08:44our own second targeting,
08:45is the great renaissance of Chinese nation,
08:48to back to the,
08:50the role that Chinese,
08:52Chinese civilization deserves,
08:53in a thousand years history.
08:55So,
08:56today,
08:57under a situation,
08:59of extremely,
09:00uh,
09:01development,
09:01product,
09:01product,
09:05China definitely will support,
09:07in economic policy level,
09:08we will support,
09:09free trades,
09:10which is a little different,
09:12from,
09:12some left-wing intellectual,
09:14in global south,
09:15they think.
09:16So,
09:17interestingly,
09:17it actually hand over,
09:19the,
09:21or USA,
09:22in the early 21st century.
09:23So,
09:24my,
09:24opinion on this,
09:26is that,
09:27China should be,
09:27we should engage,
09:29in forming,
09:29uh,
09:30China-led globalization,
09:32or global order.
09:33And then,
09:34this global order,
09:35at least,
09:36cover,
09:36half,
09:37of the world.
09:38That is,
09:39for example,
09:39the majority,
09:40of,
09:41some hemisphere.
09:42Because,
09:43from a realistic,
09:44real,
09:44real reasons,
09:46perspective,
09:46I think,
09:47USA will insist,
09:48on keeping,
09:49the western hemisphere,
09:50as their,
09:51how to say,
09:52the influence area.
09:53And,
09:53in this new,
09:56global,
09:57order,
09:57I think,
09:58that,
09:59China should welcome,
10:00the developing country,
10:02to catch,
10:02the China's,
10:03express.
10:04China's,
10:05express.
10:05But,
10:06we should also advise,
10:08the developing countries,
10:09that,
10:09not every country,
10:11has,
10:11this capacity to,
10:13how to say,
10:13to,
10:14to remake,
10:15the Chinese development model.
10:17Because,
10:17the Chinese development model,
10:19as we will discover later,
10:20is largely,
10:21because,
10:21China is super large,
10:23civilization scale,
10:24super big country.
10:26And,
10:26it naturally,
10:27has a strong effects,
10:29of,
10:30economic of scale,
10:31and also,
10:32the,
10:34network effect.
10:34But,
10:35many of the country,
10:36itself,
10:36cannot become network.
10:38So,
10:38their rational choice,
10:39is to join,
10:41the Chinese network,
10:43not,
10:43you know,
10:44self-isolate,
10:45and,
10:45and,
10:46rejected,
10:47China's,
10:48you know,
10:48cooperation,
10:49and,
10:50try to,
10:50build a network,
10:51and,
10:51it will be doomed to be failed.
10:53So,
10:54lessons many,
10:54for example,
10:55in our neighbor,
10:56North Korea.
10:57I think,
10:57that currently,
10:58the major challenge,
10:59for China to,
11:00to build,
11:00this new global order,
11:03is our,
11:04population problem.
11:05It's not,
11:05that some,
11:06cliche,
11:07that China has too much,
11:08population.
11:08No.
11:09It's,
11:09in the contrast,
11:11that,
11:11China's newborn babies,
11:13are too small,
11:14and our population,
11:14is declining.
11:16It has started,
11:16since 2022.
11:18I think that,
11:19inside China,
11:20I repeat very frequently,
11:21that,
11:21China should,
11:22finds all sorts of,
11:24methods,
11:24particularly,
11:25effective economic methods,
11:26because,
11:27economy will speak for itself,
11:28including,
11:29including,
11:30as I describe,
11:31using the newborn babies,
11:33as the money creation,
11:34injection window,
11:36just as I,
11:37described,
11:38the infrastructure,
11:39in China,
11:40since 2003,
11:41as a model,
11:42as of,
11:43stimulus.
11:44And,
11:45also,
11:45more and more Chinese,
11:46we should go,
11:47to the developing countries,
11:48and to participate,
11:50and create,
11:50economic opportunity there,
11:52because,
11:53they are more experienced,
11:54and also,
11:55they,
11:55could easily,
11:56discover,
11:56economic opportunities,
11:57and bring up,
11:59all kinds,
12:00with their entrepreneurship,
12:02to bring up,
12:02the economic linkage with China,
12:04and then,
12:05to contribute,
12:06this forming,
12:07of the global order.
12:08So,
12:08now,
12:09come back to,
12:09our main thing today,
12:11is about,
12:12the main development periods,
12:14of,
12:14modern China.
12:16So,
12:16which period,
12:17has happened what,
12:18and what kinds of effects.
12:20So,
12:20now,
12:21for this episode,
12:21I will discuss,
12:22firstly,
12:23about 1949 to 1979.
12:25I mentioned that,
12:26actually,
12:27in my first episode,
12:28the launching episode,
12:29of Decoding China,
12:30I said that,
12:30China is not,
12:31starting from point zero,
12:33in 1979.
12:33No,
12:34that is a,
12:34wrong narrative,
12:36of,
12:36Western countries.
12:38So,
12:39in,
12:39in 1949,
12:41actually,
12:41China,
12:41indeed,
12:42we started from,
12:44point zero.
12:45So,
12:45from 1949 to 1979,
12:48these 30 years,
12:49this is the 30 years,
12:50that laid down,
12:51the,
12:51China modernization,
12:53industry revolution,
12:54manufacturing,
12:55uh,
12:57foundation.
12:57So,
12:58the miracle of China,
12:59starting point,
13:00is not,
13:001979.
13:02Most of the narrative,
13:03from West,
13:03biggest mistake,
13:05is saying that,
13:06China is,
13:06poor and empty,
13:07without anything,
13:08in 1979.
13:09No.
13:10The modern country's,
13:13as long as it's not,
13:14a purely state,
13:15a city-state,
13:16for example,
13:17for example,
13:18Singapore,
13:18but Singapore,
13:19actually,
13:20also have some industry.
13:21Uh,
13:22let's take our special administration,
13:24as example,
13:24uh,
13:25Hong Kong.
13:25So,
13:26Hong Kong,
13:26basically,
13:26it is city-state,
13:28although it is a region.
13:30It could maintain its economic role,
13:33as a pure,
13:33you know,
13:34trade center,
13:35financial center,
13:36shipping center.
13:37But,
13:37other countries,
13:38if they really want some kinds of,
13:41true development,
13:41they should,
13:42deal with some kinds of industrialization,
13:45putting some role in it.
13:46Uh,
13:46of course,
13:46not,
13:47not every country can,
13:48and do all the things,
13:49but they have should,
13:50they should participate some network,
13:52and make some role.
13:53So,
13:53in these 13 years,
13:55so,
13:56China has,
13:58two rounds of industrialization,
14:00laid down the foundation.
14:02So,
14:03uh,
14:04in the,
14:04in the year of 1949,
14:08the China starting from year zero,
14:09at that time,
14:10China's,
14:10our only,
14:12only head in the trade space,
14:13with many countries,
14:15uh,
14:16concentrated,
14:17or exist,
14:17in China's northeast,
14:19or the so-called Manchuria.
14:21It is,
14:22uh,
14:22composed by the,
14:24some,
14:25industry factory,
14:26and infrastructure,
14:27like,
14:27railway network,
14:29left by,
14:30firstly,
14:31Imperial Russia,
14:32and then Japan.
14:33And,
14:33including,
14:34and also including some,
14:35steel making factory,
14:37like,
14:37in Anshan Steel,
14:38and also,
14:40is nearby,
14:41iron ore mining,
14:43and some of the soybean farms,
14:45and related,
14:46uh,
14:47agricultural product,
14:48uh,
14:49processing factory.
14:50And then,
14:51remaining in some,
14:52uh,
14:53light industry,
14:53like,
14:54uh,
14:54fabric industry,
14:56in Shanghai,
14:57and nearby region,
14:58and some of the southwestern region,
15:01like,
15:01Sichuan province,
15:02uh,
15:03there is some military industry,
15:04which is formed in the anti-Japanese war.
15:06So,
15:07except that,
15:08basically,
15:08China as a whole,
15:09is a pure agriculture,
15:11and,
15:12trading,
15:13country.
15:14And,
15:14comparatively,
15:15compared to other civilization,
15:17China is in the bottom point,
15:19of thousands of years of civilization.
15:22And then,
15:23China started to get rid of,
15:24the,
15:25the years of war,
15:26and start construction.
15:28So,
15:29uh,
15:30in these 13 years,
15:31the two major,
15:32you know,
15:32economic revolutions,
15:34there are two aspects.
15:35One aspect is,
15:37abolish the feudalism,
15:39you basically,
15:40you can call feudalism,
15:41land ownership,
15:42private land ownership.
15:43We become,
15:44firstly,
15:45as a peasant ownership.
15:46And then,
15:47we,
15:47we try to build some socialist,
15:49public ownership.
15:50And,
15:51we look into many of the,
15:52socialist,
15:54reform,
15:55process,
15:55in the Soviet Union.
15:57And,
15:57in the,
15:57of course,
15:58in these 30 years,
15:59the so-called people's commune.
16:01And,
16:01the other is,
16:02as I mentioned,
16:04industrialization,
16:04which I will describe more,
16:06closely,
16:07in detail.
16:09Uh,
16:10the first one,
16:11I should say,
16:11the first one,
16:12the land,
16:13the public ownership of land,
16:15in the rural areas,
16:16uh,
16:16including so-called people's commune.
16:17Actually,
16:18after the,
16:191979,
16:21after the,
16:22uh,
16:22reform,
16:22and opening up,
16:23it miraculously created,
16:26a very important role,
16:28in China's industrialization.
16:29We call it,
16:29town and village enterprises.
16:32And,
16:32these TVEs,
16:33or town and village enterprises,
16:35just like,
16:36the aunts,
16:36armed soldiers.
16:38What I mean,
16:38armed,
16:39strong soldiers,
16:40or armies,
16:40it means that there are many,
16:41and each of them is with strong,
16:43entrepreneurship.
16:45And,
16:45they,
16:46are the,
16:47miracles of,
16:49China's,
16:50industrialized,
16:51half century later,
16:52the most important components.
16:54And,
16:54the later,
16:55decided,
16:56I mean,
16:56industrialization,
16:57decided,
16:58China's national strength.
17:00So,
17:00China's modern,
17:01rise in the modern times,
17:03we have to rely on industry,
17:05modern industry,
17:06modern manufacturing.
17:06So,
17:07if,
17:08you are,
17:09you don't have a previous,
17:10land reform,
17:11you only have,
17:12the later industrialization,
17:14you will see that,
17:15the industrialization,
17:16will face lots of,
17:17obstacles,
17:18such as,
17:18what happens in Philippines,
17:20in Brazil,
17:20Indonesia,
17:21Indonesia.
17:22You may sound,
17:23into the middle income trap.
17:25The core issues there,
17:27is that,
17:27the infrastructure,
17:29could not be pushed,
17:31If you only have,
17:33the later,
17:33and don't have,
17:34the pre,
17:35the,
17:36I mean,
17:36only have,
17:37the so-called,
17:38socialist revolution,
17:39turn something,
17:40into public ownership,
17:42you'll become,
17:43some of the so-called,
17:43African socialist countries,
17:45after 1975.
17:46For example,
17:47Congo,
17:48Bolazevia,
17:49Benin,
17:49Mozambique,
17:50Saint-Toma,
17:51Principi,
17:51these countries,
17:52only make about 10 years,
17:53socialist periods,
17:55and then,
17:56finished,
17:56and then,
17:57they have to go to West,
17:59for,
17:59you know,
17:59for,
18:00pleading,
18:01and become,
18:01the servants of West again.
18:03So now,
18:04let's come,
18:05back to the industrialization process.
18:08In these 13 years,
18:09there are two rounds of,
18:11very important,
18:12industrialization way.
18:13The first,
18:14industrialization way,
18:15which laid down the,
18:16modern China,
18:18industrialization base,
18:19factories,
18:19is the 1915s.
18:20Russia,
18:20or Soviet Union at the time,
18:22they aided China,
18:24with 156,
18:26important,
18:26industrial projects.
18:28It is,
18:29Ukraine,
18:29basically,
18:29each of the projects,
18:31are all big factories.
18:33And,
18:33it started from,
18:341955,
18:35and,
18:36basically,
18:37showing effect,
18:37in the late,
18:381950s,
18:39and early,
18:401960s,
18:40when,
18:41our two countries,
18:42relationship break up.
18:44So,
18:45before,
18:45relations break up,
18:47all these,
18:47you know,
18:49156 projects,
18:50are basically,
18:51all in place.
18:52So,
18:53it has formed,
18:54the,
18:55heavy industries,
18:56framework,
18:56for China.
18:58Among them,
18:59the Chinese Northeast,
19:00or Manchuria,
19:01is most concentrated,
19:02but,
19:02also,
19:03including other parts,
19:04of China.
19:05So,
19:06many of the,
19:07large machinery,
19:08machinery,
19:09equipment,
19:09and the core parts,
19:11of industry manufacturing,
19:13is founded,
19:14in this period,
19:15in this period.
19:16And,
19:16at that time,
19:17after that,
19:18the Northeast of China,
19:19become,
19:20the number one,
19:21core asset,
19:22of the Chinese industry.
19:24Let's take example,
19:25the Shenyang Airplane Manufacturing Company,
19:28the Shenyang Machine Tool,
19:29the first heavy industry,
19:31which is,
19:32makes the equipment,
19:33to produce steel,
19:34located in Heilongjiang province,
19:36which is neighboring Russia.
19:37And also,
19:38the seamless,
19:39you know,
19:40steel pipe,
19:40pipe,
19:42of Tianjin.
19:42and the first tractor,
19:44factory,
19:45of Luoyang.
19:46So,
19:47all of these,
19:47is typical case,
19:49of China.
19:50So,
19:51within 10 years,
19:52China has a basic,
19:55of heavy industries.
19:56The second round,
19:57of industrial wave,
19:58is,
19:59today,
20:00in economic history,
20:01I will call it,
20:02the 14-3 plan.
20:04It took place,
20:05in 1973,
20:06the later years,
20:07of cultural revolution.
20:08It was the name of this,
20:10because it expanded,
20:114.3 billion US dollars.
20:13So,
20:14this is the second round,
20:15of China's,
20:15massive rounds,
20:17of,
20:17introduced,
20:18of,
20:18the equipment.
20:20The focus was,
20:21on,
20:22agriculture-related,
20:24industry,
20:24particularly,
20:24fertilizer.
20:26And also,
20:26some of the light industry,
20:28upstream,
20:28including,
20:29the chemical fibers,
20:30and dairy chemistry.
20:32And also,
20:32including some,
20:33at that time,
20:33higher ends,
20:34raw material,
20:35like the,
20:36steel plates,
20:37rolling machine.
20:39So,
20:39it included 26,
20:40big projects,
20:42including,
20:43petrochemical,
20:44petrol fiber,
20:45and fertilizer company.
20:46And also,
20:47the hot rolling,
20:48of steel,
20:49and some,
20:50coal-fired stations.
20:51So,
20:52all of these,
20:53was,
20:53technology come from,
20:54Japan,
20:56USA,
20:57and European countries,
20:58like,
20:58Western Germany.
20:59So,
21:00these projects,
21:01will play a very important role,
21:03to solving,
21:03the,
21:04the food,
21:05shortage problem,
21:07and also,
21:07the clothes shortage problem,
21:09for modern China,
21:10in 1970s.
21:11So,
21:11this is,
21:12a core process,
21:14of China's industry,
21:15catching up.
21:16basically,
21:16on this period,
21:17China,
21:18we don't have much of innovation,
21:20honestly speaking,
21:20because,
21:20we are,
21:21developed,
21:22starting from,
21:22back to,
21:23agricultural,
21:24big country.
21:25Of course,
21:26in,
21:26in this,
21:27period,
21:28besides,
21:29the two rounds,
21:29of,
21:30introducing,
21:31in,
21:31foreign technology,
21:32industry,
21:33technology,
21:33project,
21:34we have,
21:35others,
21:36self-made,
21:37industry project,
21:38and other technology project,
21:39which mainly,
21:40was hosted,
21:41by,
21:41some,
21:42overseas Chinese,
21:43come back to China.
21:44For example,
21:45in,
21:45national defense,
21:46we have,
21:46nuclear weapons,
21:49capability,
21:51we have,
21:51a satellite launching capability,
21:53a rocket launching capability.
21:54At the same time,
21:55we also,
21:55discovered,
21:56big oil fees,
21:57in the north east part,
21:59China,
21:59and the northern part of China.
22:01So,
22:01we realized,
22:03the self-sufficient,
22:04supply of oil,
22:05at that time.
22:06So,
22:07China actually,
22:08you know,
22:08we start,
22:08only start to import oil,
22:10since 1990.
22:10And,
22:11during this period,
22:12China indeed,
22:13we are a Soviet style,
22:15planned economy,
22:16although not so rigid,
22:17as the Soviet Union.
22:18So,
22:19so,
22:20naturally,
22:20this,
22:21as every planned economy,
22:23will,
22:23will suffer,
22:24we have shortages,
22:25immediately.
22:26So,
22:26this phenomenon,
22:27become widespread,
22:29in our food supply,
22:31and,
22:31and some,
22:32many of consumers,
22:33good supply.
22:34So,
22:35of course,
22:36some of,
22:37severe,
22:38leads to some famines,
22:39even.
22:40So,
22:40many of the,
22:41media attacks,
22:42of the West,
22:43against China,
22:45against China,
22:46on this period,
22:46also took place,
22:48during these years.
22:49And,
22:49and also,
22:50at this time,
22:51China is basically,
22:52a low-income country,
22:53and the monetary income,
22:55of China,
22:56Chinese people,
22:56only people,
22:57has not rise,
22:58for many, many years.
22:59It didn't change,
23:00since,
23:01for example,
23:02from 1915 to 1979.
23:04So,
23:05when,
23:05when this period,
23:06was end,
23:06in the year,
23:08of 19,
23:09early 1980s,
23:11China,
23:12is a country.
23:12So,
23:13by the way,
23:13this is a dramatical rise,
23:15beginning years,
23:17of China.
23:17It's after this period.
23:19China,
23:20is a country,
23:21with,
23:21very low,
23:22nominal,
23:23GDP per capita.
23:25But,
23:25in the economic sense,
23:26it's an outlier.
23:28So,
23:28it could never compare,
23:30with,
23:31ordinary,
23:32developing countries.
23:33actually,
23:34this is,
23:34the roots,
23:36of many,
23:36economic,
23:38in the,
23:38because,
23:39economics,
23:40there's,
23:40development,
23:41economics,
23:42there's many,
23:42so-called,
23:43Chinese myths.
23:44So,
23:44to understand,
23:45to solve these myths,
23:46it's very easy to understand,
23:47that,
23:47China is always an outlier.
23:49So,
23:49the essence of it's an outlier,
23:51is that,
23:52in the year,
23:53of 1980,
23:53or 1981,
23:54China,
23:55is a,
23:56a country,
23:57with,
23:58nominal GDP per capita,
23:59with,
23:59only 200 US dollars,
24:01at a time.
24:02But,
24:02we are a country,
24:03with the,
24:04capability,
24:05to producing,
24:07machine tool,
24:08to producing,
24:09heavy machine,
24:10to produce,
24:11steel,
24:12to produce,
24:13rail track,
24:14to produce,
24:15locomotive,
24:16to produce,
24:17large equipments,
24:18or even,
24:18airplanes,
24:19and,
24:20also,
24:20ships.
24:21So,
24:22this is not a,
24:23you know,
24:23simple,
24:24ordinary,
24:24poor country.
24:26This is a country,
24:27with great potential,
24:28and also,
24:29at another time,
24:30the education level,
24:32is,
24:33gradually,
24:33prepared.
24:35So,
24:35upon this foundation,
24:37China,
24:37studies our journey,
24:38of miraculous rights.
24:41So,
24:41that is why,
24:42I wanted today,
24:43share with you,
24:43the first,
24:44first episode,
24:44of China development.
24:45Now,
24:46keep following with me,
24:47continuing the tour,
24:48of decoding China,
24:49we're coming to the next,
24:50historical period,
24:52which was 1980.
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