5 - Industrial Development amid Cold War Insecurity

Summary

Chapter 5 assesses the CCP’s efforts to industrialize China during the Third Front campaign. I demonstrate that the Third Front constrained development by dedicating economic resources to costly projects in the interior instead of focusing on less expensive coastal endeavors. The Cultural Revolution also elevated construction costs by hindering the completion of projects. The Third Front, however, was the sole economic policy that Party leaders formulated at the time to develop inland areas, and despite its many problems, it helped to lessen regional economic differences. The industrialization of inland China in turn provided a foundation for post-Mao economic growth by accelerating the movement of regional resources, linking the interior more tightly into national networks, and fostering the CCP’s aspiration to industrialize whole regions.