1972, China\'s Economy Could Best

¶ … 1972, China's economy could best be described as a disaster. From the beginning of the Communist takeover of China in 1949, the Chinese leadership under Mao Tse Dong had instituted a series of failed economic policies. These policies had been designed to bring China's economy into the modern world; and compete with other nations. However, policies like the "Great Leap Forward," which between 1959 and 1961 resulted in the greatest famine in human history and the deaths of millions of Chinese, failed to meet expectations. (Naughton 59-64)

After the disastrous results of the "Great Leap Forward," China began to recover. Throughout the early 1960's, China's "Agriculture First" program managed to stabilize the food supply and avoid the famines which had devastated the nation. However, beginning in 1966, China took a major turn for the worse. The "Great Proletariat Cultural" Revolution, begun personally by Mao, attempted to rid the county of any capitalistic tendencies which had begun to spring up. This turned out to be as much as a failure as the Great Leap Forward, and had consequences just as disastrous. (McMillan 139-140)

The first phase of the Cultural revolution was the military phase which lasted from 1966-1971. During this time China was in a state of economic chaos as cadres of young Chinese destroyed whole parts of the Chinese economy in the name of socialism. The second phase was the succession phase, which lasted from 1972-1976, and involved infighting between Communist hardliners and reformers inside the government. It was during the second phase that American President Richard Nixon visited China and marked a dramatic change in policies both for countries.

February 21-28, 1972, was a week that changed the world, for it was the week Richard Nixon established formal relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America. It was also the week that the balance of power between the Communist World and the Free World shifted in favor of the Free World. For decades the world had been trapped in a power struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States, China had at first been on the side of the Soviets. However, after years of distrust and internal conflict, China broke with the Soviets and established relations with the free world. While there were many results from this visit, the most important was the effects on China's economy and society. China's opening up with the West would lead to major economic and political changes, when after the death of Mao, another leader assumed control and began a series of reforms. These reforms were directly responsible for the rise of China in the later years of the 20th century.