A New World is Possible: The Modernization of China

399 Pages·2023·4.701 MB·English

by  Yu Jiang

Understanding China
Yu Jiang
A New
World is
Possible
The Modernization of China
Understanding China
The series will provide you with in-depth information on China’s social, cultural and
economic aspects. It covers a broad variety of topics, from economics and history
to law, philosophy, cultural geography and regional politics, and offers a wealth of
materials for researchers, doctoral students, and experienced practitioners.
Yu Jiang
A New World is Possible
The Modernization of China
Yu Jiang
Development Research Center (DRC)
of the State Council, Center for
International Knowledge on Development
(CIKD)
Beijing, China
ISSN 2196-3134 ISSN 2196-3142 (electronic)
Understanding China
ISBN 978-981-19-8917-9 ISBN 978-981-19-8918-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8918-6
Jointly published with CITIC Press Corporation
The print edition is not for sale in China (Mainland). Customers from China (Mainland) please order the
print book from: CITIC Press Corporation.
2020 Belt & Road Book Program by Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee
This edition is an authorized translation from the Chinese language edition. Published by arrangement
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© CITIC Press Corporation 2023
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Acknowledgements
Since this book is about China’s modernization, the greatest thanks go to the pioneers
who made sacrifices along the way. It was the countless people who painstakingly
built something from nothing, the fortitude of countless workers, farmers, teachers,
doctors and soldiers that revitalized the ancient nation of China. This book would
not have been possible otherwise.
I thank my parents for raising and educating me. I thank Prof. Li Ling, my doctoral
advisor, who was the first expert to advocate non-profit healthcare reforms in China.
Her immense contributions in this respect have set an example for me. Professor Li
also provided much guidance and assistance in the writing of this book. The Chinese
edition of this book was based on a class on the economic history of the People’s
Republic of China that I taught at Peking University. Many young students born in
the 1990s were deeply enthusiastic about learning and exploring the Chinese path.
I thank the 500-odd students who took the class, as well as my teaching assistants,
Yang Chunyu, Liu Guizhen and Luo Yuan.
Kong Dan wrote a preface for the Chinese edition of this book. Ji Hong, Tan
Huifang, Wang Shaoguang, Li Ling, Yu Tao, Lu Zhoulai, Xu Hengqiu, Li Lecheng,
Lyu Dewen, Chen Yinjian and Xiao Wu promoted it in various settings. Yang Qing,
Zhang Lei and Zheng Ruolin of Fujian’s SETV produced a television program for
the book. My gratitude also goes to experts, colleagues and friends who offered their
guidance and discussed the topics covered: Chen Quanxun, Teng Wensheng, Zhu
Jiamu, Li Shenming, Sun Zhigang, Zhao Changwen, Liu Wenxian, Gao Changwu,
Fan Peng, Zhong Dongbo, Song Xiaoqing, Yan Yilong, Bai Gang, Xu Haoyuan, Xu
Junzhong, Shen Yuanyuan, Wei Nanzhi, Zhang Qingyan, Zhou Jianming, Gao Liang,
Wu Li, Yang Xin, Zhang Wei and Peng Shu. Many of the perspectives in this book
were inspired by our discussions.
Finally, I thank Zhang Kuanxu, Zhao Yani, Huang Chun, Cao Kaiyun and Beijing
Chinese-Foreign Translation and Information Service Co., Ltd. for their hard work
in the English translation.
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Praise for A New World is Possible
“The author is not writing only in library but also taking part in the policy making
and public opinion debate. The book makes a convincing explanation of the history,
logic and future of China’s path, clarifies many vague understandings and gives a
historical and in-depth interpretation of China’s new era and the future. It reflects the
author’s solid theoretical foundation and deep understanding of China.”
—Ling Li, Professor of Economics, Peking University
“The author convincingly tells the story of why China get success.”
—Han Yuhai, Professor of Chinese, Peking University
“This magnificent book, written by a young scholar, sums up China’s modern history
in 6 concise words: The first 30 years (Creation, Innovation), the next 40 years
(Reform, Globalization) and the future 30 years (Transcendence, Rejuvenation).
Such craftsmanship let me sincerely praise: A youth is to be regarded with respect.”
—Wang Shaoguang, Professor of Political Science and the Director of Universities
Service Centre for China Studies, Hongkong University
“The book discusses the Chinese history as a whole and try to interpretation the
continuity between the Mao era, Post-Mao era and China’s future, criticizing the
attitude of cutting apart the China’s modern history. The author integrates historical
research and theoretical research and put forward new theoretical framework, proving
that Socialism to China is not only an ideology, but also the way to industrialization
and modernization.”
—Liu Chenguang, Professor of Politic Science, Central Party School
“The author is insightful and sharp. He clarifies the historical context of the past 70
years and the logical relationship between the past and future, explaining what kind
of road China is on, how it steps out step by step, and how it should continue to go
in the next 30 years. There are both theories and domestic cases as well as foreign
examples in various fields. Furthermore, the author summarizes and discusses almost
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all popular thoughts and debates on China’s development way and makes thoroughly
analysis. The proposition of the book is grand, the theory is profound, but the language
is fluent, not difficult, easy to read and understand. Even if you skim, you can quickly
understand the outline. This book is a very thick one, full of pages, but it is solid,
with little nonsense and superfluous words.”
—Yu Tao, Head of Department of Party Organization, Yantai City, China
“China’s New Way links the history of China’s revolution and reform from the
perspective of economic history. In Jiang Yu’s works, the economic system China
chose in the first 30 years is not only for theoretical belief and blind imitation, but also
for the need of realizing the real independence of the country, economic takeoff and
ensuring the basic people’s livelihood at a low level. At the same time, it has laid the
foundation of industrialization and national governance for China’s 40 years’ devel-
opment as a late developing country. At the same time, the Chinese model is neither
a simple negation of the first 30 years nor a simple summary of the last 40 years, but
a product of 70 years of hard exploration, and a result of reflection and integration of
all the experience and lessons of economic development since the founding of new
China. Therefore, some basic elements of the Chinese model run through 70 years
of national history and will still be continued by the new era.”
—Lu Zhoulai, Director and Professor of Economic Research Center of National
Defense University, China’s Famous Best-Seller Book Writer
“The author insists on the methodology of seeking truth from facts, insists on ‘the
theory comes from history’ instead of ‘the theory replace the history’, and avoids
replacing historical facts with the prejudice, which makes the book full of new ideas.
The author has studied western economics, but he is not bound by the frame-
work of western economics. Instead, he takes the foreign theories for the Chinese.
For example, in recent years, the information economics and contract theory of the
frontier of western economics are used to explain the planned economy and state-
owned enterprises, the cooperative game theory is used to explain the agricultural
cooperation, and the periodic theory of ‘positive, negative and combined’ of market
economy is constructed with the framework of market economy and protective move-
ment. This shows that it is possible to apply and contribute to the theory based on
China’s reality.
On the basis of reflecting on the Western Road, the author summarizes and
refines the characteristics of Chinese road, which is innovative and has theoretical
and historical basis. The five main characteristics of the ‘Chinese road’ proposed
in this book are not the simple repair and follow-up of western theories, but the
significant differences between the Chinese road and the Western Road, which are
persuasive. They are proposed from the perspective of philosophical basis, the rela-
tionship between human beings and capital, social equity, states governance and
global system. Another feature of this generalization is that it did not separate the
PraiseforANewWorldisPossible ix
two periods before and after the reform and opening up, but found the common
experience of the two periods, and explained how the Chinese road came and what
the advantages of this road are.”
—Kong Dan, Former Chairman of China CITIC Corporation, Chairman of CITIC
Reform and Development Research Foundation
Contents
1 A New World is Possible: Preface to the English Edition .......... 1
1.1 China in the Eyes of an Ordinary Chinese ................... 1
1.2 To Understand China, One Must Understand Chinese
History ................................................ 4
1.3 What is the China Modernization Model? ................... 7
1.4 New Economics ......................................... 9
1.5 Reconceptualizing Marxism and Socialism .................. 10
1.6 To Third World Readers .................................. 13
1.7 ANew ErainChina ..................................... 15
2 China’s Early Choice of Modernization Path ..................... 19
2.1 Introduction ............................................ 19
2.2 Why Was China Previously Unable to Modernize? ........... 21
2.2.1 Constraints of a Smallholder Economy ............ 22
2.2.2 Constraints of the World System .................. 25
2.2.3 Constraints of State Power ....................... 28
2.3 The Goals and Constraints of Modernization
in the People’s Republic .................................. 31
2.3.1 The Three Major Goals for Economic
Development of the People’s Republic ............. 32
2.3.2 China’s Comparative Advantages ................. 35
2.4 The April Crisis: A Clash Between Old Institutions
and New Goals ......................................... 36
2.4.1 The April Crisis ................................ 36
2.4.2 Supply-Side: Land Reforms ...................... 39
2.4.3 Supply-Side Reforms: Readjusting Industry
and Commerce ................................. 40
2.5 The New Logic Underlying New Institutions ................ 42
2.5.1 Prioritizing the Development of Heavy Industry ..... 43
2.5.2 The Planned Economy .......................... 48
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