1. Modern World History China and Globalization Assign. #6-4

2. The Great Leap Forward (#1)
After the success of the first Five-Year Plan, Mao proclaimed the “Great Leap Forward” program in 1958
Collective farms were expanded into communes that supported over 25,000 people
People shared dining rooms, dormitories, and nurseries for children
No one could own private items
They were governed by strict rules
Results:
Crop failures caused a famine which killed 20 million people and the program was ended in 1961
Industrial declines
Mao lost influence
The Great Leap Forward (#1)

3. The Cultural Revolution (#1)
Cultural Revolution—an uprising movement led by the Red Guards to build society of peasants and workers in which all were equal
Red Guards (groups of violent and radical youth) closed schools, and executed or imprisoned many intellectuals, factory managers, professors, and others thought to be resisting
Chaos threatened farm and factory production and set China backwards
Finally in 1968, the Chinese army was ordered to imprison, execute, or exile most of the Red Guards to stop the violence and chaos
Results: Purges and conflicts among leaders created economic, social, and political chaos

4. China had nearly no role in world affairs during the Cultural Revolution
Zhou Enlai led China in the early 1970s as Mao Zedong’s health was failing
Zhou ended China’s isolationism
An American table tennis team visited in 1971 (first official visit by Americans since 1949 – before communism)
US President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972 and opened relations with China
China and the West (#2)

5. Post-Mao China (#3) Deng Xiaoping – Mao’s successor
Four Modernizations – set of goals that sought progress in the following areas:
Agriculture
Industry
Defense
Science and technology
Led “Deng’s Revolution” – movement that moderated Mao’s strict communism and isolation by doing the following:
Oversaw the beginnings of the “modern China” we see today
Brought China into international markets and trading again
Opened China to foreign capitalists
Sent Chinese students to foreign universities (needed to rebuild intellectual class)

6. Results of Deng’s Economic Reforms (#4)
As incomes increased people began to buy more appliances and TVs
Chinese youth began to wear more Western styled clothes and listen to Western music
Foreign tourism in China increased
Unexpected problems:
As living standards increased, so did a gap between the rich and poor
People began to believe that the communist party officials unfairly profited from their political positions
With Western economic investment, tourism, and cultural influences also came Western political ideas of democracy
Chinese young people began to more openly question the communist party leadership and their lack of political freedom

7. Tiananmen Square (#5)
Thousands of Chinese students organized pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989
Influenced by pro-democracy movements at end of Cold War
Student protest in the capitol gained widespread support, and spread to hundreds of cities across the country
Deng approved bloody crackdown – thousands killed/imprisoned
“Tank Man” defies Chinese military heading
to put down the Tiananmen Square protests

8. Questions Following Deng’s Death (#6)
Deng Xiaoping died in 1997 and was replaced by Jiang Zemin
Questions for China at this time included:
Would Zemin be able to hold onto power (a non-military man in control of the Chinese military)?
Would China hang onto control of Tibet despite pressure from the rest of the world?
Would China improve its human rights record (known for holding a large number of political prisoners)?
Zemin with US President Bill Clinton

9. China Today
Central Question: How does China reap the benefits of the global economy and world capitalism/trade without sacrificing their Communist principles?
Deng clearly had to walk a fine line in that effort (opened up Chinese markets, used capitalism to bring economy back – but cracked down on democracy at Tiananmen)

10. Chances of Greater Democracy in China? (#7)
China has continued to have a growing economy despite the recent global recession
A growing middle class means greater demands by people with money to have more say in political decisions
As countries get linked together through technology and trade, they will have the power to influence each other politically
The question is will China’s communist government make political reforms in the same way it has made economic reforms
If it doesn’t there could be problems in China in the future as people demand these political reforms

11. U.S. and China Trade
There is a growing gap in the amount of goods purchased by the U.S. from China and the amount China buys from the U.S.
This is because China is able to produce goods that Americans want at the lowest cost
China has a lower standard of living, which allows companies in China to pay lower wages to workers
American companies can't compete with China's low costs, and many jobs are lost
If tariffs on Chinese goods were enacted, However, U.S. consumers would have to pay higher prices for their "Made in America" goods

13. China and U.S. Debt
One third of our U.S. Debt is owned by foreign nations
China owns one fifth of that foreign debt ($1.2 trillion)