Recently, I had the pleasure of reading Professor Wen Tiejun's new book, "Eight Crises", which has subverted my understanding of China's history since the founding of the People's Republic of China. When I was a student, the Great Leap Forward, the People's Commune, and *** were the themes of history textbooks, and these familiar ** popped up in history books. However, in Professor Wen's book, I learned that China has experienced at least eight economic crises, which gave me a new understanding of the economic context of China's history.
In these crises, agriculture has played a huge role in China's economic development. After the withdrawal of experts from the Soviet Union, China fell into a period of stagnation of total Sovietization, and the natural disasters of 1960 caused the entire national economy to fall into confusion. However, through large-scale iron and steel smelting and farmland and water conservancy infrastructure, agriculture absorbed a large number of agricultural population, which played an important role in ensuring the industrialization process and the stability of the new regime.
Then, in 1965, the construction of the third line forced China to mobilize large resources to the central and western regions, resulting in a de facto fiscal deficit. Coupled with the decade of ultra-leftist ideological revolution, a large number of unemployed young people appeared in the cities, and the economic crisis reappeared. However, through the movement of urban youth to the countryside, a large number of unemployed people in the cities were absorbed, and the problem of the economic crisis was transferred to the rural areas, where it was finally resolved.
In the early days of reform and opening up, China's relations with the United States gradually improved, and it began to use foreign capital to continue the road of industrialization. However, due to inexperience and the historical limitations of the leaders, the economic crisis reappeared due to excessive investment in industrialization and a disproportionate share of external debt. However, through the household responsibility system, township enterprises, and fiscal and taxation reforms, China has passed on the economic crisis to agriculture, contributing a large number of low-cost labor to the country's development.
During the global economic crisis in 2008, China was also facing an economic crisis, with a surplus of labor, production capacity and capital, and investment and exports became a thin horse driving the economy. However, through the rise of central China and the construction of new rural areas, China has made arrangements ahead of schedule and has taken on the difficulties brought about by the global economic crisis. This time, agriculture once again played an important role, giving China's economy a soft landing.
Agriculture has played a decisive role in these crises, and it is one of the key factors that has enabled China to successfully respond to them and continue to move forward. China is the only developing country in the world that has successfully completed primary industrialization and has a complete range of industrial sectors. There are many factors for this success, including agriculture with Chinese characteristics and the dual economic structure of urban and rural areas. These are the core elements that have enabled China to successfully land and move forward in previous crises.
As a professor who grew up in rural areas and has many years of experience in rural investigation, Professor Wen Tiejun's views are not only supported by theoretical knowledge, but also supported by practical verification. His approach to combining academics and practice is a rare sight to behold. Whenever I think of his account of the past crises, I am shocked, like drinking an old wine with a long aftertaste.
These are just a few of the contents of Professor Wen Tiejun's book, and he hopes that China will train more practical economists to make suggestions for the country's development. This book has inspired me so much that I believe it will become a bestseller.