The evolution of communist China from 1921

Extract

[...] The country is a key player in globalization and in 2010 it became the world's second- largest economy. Xi Jipping, who came to power in 2013, decided to fundamentally transform China's economy, which had until then been based on exports and public investment. Therefore, he gives priority to domestic consumption and supports innovation. The main characteristic of Xi's internal politics is probably his insistence to gather all the powers in his own hands. He has systematically sought to dismantle the institutions that had been put in place under Deng, and which aimed at keeping the decision-making process out of the reach of single strongmen. [...]

[...] Young people are indoctrinated from an early age and supervised by organizations similar to those in the USSR. Mao wants China to become a model in the communist world through the Maoist model based on major economic and political operations: The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Concerning the Great Leap forward, between 1959 and 1960 the Chinese were forcibly moved to the countryside where land and property were pooled and adults were grouped into work teams. This operation ended in an economic and human disaster: tens of millions of Chinese people were killed from starvation. [...]

[...] To regain power, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966. The aim is to mobilize the masses and especially the fanatical youth to fight against the intellectuals. The cultural revolution has further damaged the economy to people have been executed and the Red Guard has destroyed many historical and religious sites. From then on, Maoism emerged as an alternative to Soviet communism and American imperialism. The ideological principles defended by Mao are enshrined in the Little Red Book that every Chinese person must possess. [...]

[...] It is certain that Communist China was no paradise for most of its inhabitants. Millions of deaths were caused by ambitious modernization programs, and millions were displaced and imprisoned. It should, however, be noted that when the Communists took over, the country was a backward, mostly agricultural economy, that found it hard to sustain its own population, let alone compete on the international scene. In 70 years, it has been transformed into the world's factory, producing enormous amounts of consumer goods, having become one of the world's largest economies, now second only to the US. [...]

[...] The evolution of communist China from 1921 China has always been a vast and powerful empire, but when the 20th century opens, this country is only a shadow of itself. The first half of the 20th century placed China under foreign domination and civil wars, leading to growing discontent among the population which configured the country for the arrival of the communists. As a result, two political parties emerged and opposed each other during a civil war from 1927 onwards: The Nationalist Party, led by Chiang Kai-Shek, and the Chinese Communist Party created in 1921, dominated by Mao Zedong. [...]