Social changes under Deng

What were the aims of Deng?

·      He wanted to modernise China

·      Deng wanted to open up China to trade with the outside world

·      Foreign investment was to increase under Deng’s leadership

What changes did Deng make to agriculture?

·      Communes were abolished and replaced with Xiang – village or town

·      Each Xiang had a quota which it had to meet and supply to the state

·      The surplus could then be sold for profit by the individual farmer

·      The new system was known as the ‘household responsibly system’. It also permitted famers to decide which crops to plant, allowing flexibility according to land and weather

·      The impact was huge and 98% of agricultural land was part of the system. Gain production saw a 144% growth during the years 1978-89. The programme was seen as a huge success.

What changes did Deng make to education?

·      University entrance exams were introduced

·      Private universities were allowed and encourages

·      Chinese students were encouraged to travel to the capitalist West for education

·      Research programmes and establishments were relaunched, which ended the repression caused by the Cultural Revolution

What changes did Deng make to the industry?

·      State owned enterprises remained but the freedom to set production targets and make profits were given to employees

·      He implemented an open-door policy, which encouraged businesses to produce quality goods which could be exported overseas

·      Special Economic Zones – SEZ’s were set up in a number of coastal cities. These were areas where foreign investment was encouraged for both exports and home industries

·      These policies were a great success with a 500% increase in export trade by 1990. Manufacturing output also increased by 34% from 11978 to 1989.

What changes did Deng make to privatisation?

·      Businesses in SEZ’s on the coast, and inland, began to make profits

·      A rural version of the SEZ’s was the ‘Town and Village enterprise’ system, which employed 100 million people by 1990