Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping and economic reform 1962-65 (the Third Five-Year Plan)

when was the retreat from the Great Leap Forward?

late 1960

when and why was the retreat from the Great Leap Forward speeded up?

1962 after Liu and Deng were put in charge

what did Liu and Deng do in 1962?

as well as allowing the communes to be broken up, they also closed down thousands of inefficient projects that had been set up in the Great Leap and announced more realistic coal and steel targets

how did Liu and Deng help set more realistic coal and steel targets?

there was a relaxation of the persecution of scientists and intellectuals, previously attacked as 'rightists', but whose contribution was now regarded as desirable

who was mainly responsible for drawing up the Third Five-Year Plan in 1962?

Chen Yun

what did the third plan mark?

a decisive shift back to centralised control, with production targets being reviewed annually and made more realistic

what was back in favour and restored to encourage workers to greater efforts?

experts were back in favour and financial incentives were restored

what were the results of the third plan?

they were positive across all sectors of the economy

what happened to agricultural production under the third plan?

agricultural production recovered to 1957 levels

what happened to oil and natural gas production under the third plan?

it rocketed

what happened to manufactured goods under the third plan?

they were produced in much greater quantities

during the period of 1964, what were Chinese scientists successful in doing?

they successfully exploded China's own atom bomb, having pieced together the documents that the Soviet advisers had hurriedly shredded when they were withdrawn in 1959

how did Mao respond to the success of the Chinese atom bomb?

he was jubilant, and contemptuously 'thanked' Khrushchev for 'helping' the Chinese to develop nuclear weapons independently by withdrawing

although Mao welcomed the economic improvements of the early 1960s, why was he reluctant to attribute them?

he saw the retreat from the Great Leap Forward as dangerous revisionism

what is revisionism?

a term of criticism used by Communists to describe any course of action that they felt betrayed communist principles. Mao frequently used it against his enemies, notably Khrushchev

what did Mao summon in January 1962 in an attempt to prevent any further drift away from strict communist principles?

he summoned a conference of 7,000 cadres

why was Mao's conference of 7,000 cadres in January 1962 not what he had hoped to be?

Liu Shaoqi, while praising Mao for his correct leadership, had gone on to imply that Mao should share some of the blame with the other leaders at the centre of government for China's past mistakes

what was the outcome of Liu's criticisms towards Mao and the other party leaders?

it was a risky tone to take following Lushan, but Liu knew he had the approval of the conference and Mao accepted responsibility as chairman of the Party, though he stopped short of admitting any personal mistakes

why was Mao's acceptance of responsibility for the failings of the Great Leap Forward significant?

it was the first time that Mao's aura of infallibility had been damaged, and for the next few months, he withdrew from public life, leaving Liu, Deng and Zhou in charge

who was on the right of the Party?

Liu, Deng and Chen Yun

what view did members on the right of the Party take?

they took the pragmatic view that ideological concessions would be necessary to restore the economy: mass mobilisation was no substitute for expertise and planning, and private trade was justified if it motivated people to work harder

on the left of the party, what did Mao argue?

that continuing revolution should be the key: without mass mobilisation, there would always be the danger of a new bourgeoisie emerging inside the Party and destroying the gains of the revolution

when did Mao return to the political fray?

in the summer of 1962

what did Mao attack at the annual Party conference?

he demanded to know whether China was going to take 'the socialist road or the capitalist road', and condemned the revisionism of Liu and Deng

what was the result of Liu and Deng being criticised by Mao as revisionists?

there was an uneasy compromise, whereby Liu and Deng outwardly agreed with Mao's analysis of the situation, while continuing to do things their own way. They criticised rural capitalism, but did nothing to stop farmers owning their own private plots and selling their produce for profit