|
China DEFENSE INDUSTRY
China's defense industrial complex produced weapons and
equipment based predominantly on Soviet designs of the 1950s and
1960s. Because of a lack of foreign exchange, a low short-term
threat perception, and an emphasis on the three other
modernizations (agriculture, industry, and science and technology),
China had decided to develop its defense industries gradually. It
would rely primarily on domestic production, importing foreign
technology only in areas of critical need.
The defense industries produced a wide range of military
materiel. Large quantities of small arms and tanks were produced,
and many were exported to Third World countries such as Iran. China
had upgraded Soviet aircraft and was developing nuclear-powered
ballistic-missile submarines, intercontinental ballistic missiles,
and tanks equipped with infrared night-vision gear and laser
rangefinders (see __________, ch. 14)
Because defense was assigned the lowest priority in the Four
Modernizations in the 1970s, China's large defense sector has
devoted an increasing amount of its resources to civilian
production. For example, in the mid-1980s approximately one-third
of the ordnance industry's output was allocated to civilian
production, and the share was expected to rise to two-thirds by
1990. The defense sector produced a wide variety of products,
ranging from furniture to telescopes, cameras to heavy machinery.
Despite the military's contribution to the industrial sector,
in 1987 Chinese industry lagged far behind that of the
industrialized nations. Much of industrial technology was severely
outdated; severe energy shortages, transportation bottlenecks, and
bureaucratic interference also hindered modernization. Although
output was high in a number of industries, quality was often poor.
However, China's industrial sector has made considerable progress
since 1949. Output of most products has increased dramatically
since the 1950s, and China now produces computers, satellites, and
other high-technology items. The reform program introduced in the
late 1970s brought an era of more rational economic planning and
laid the groundwork for more balanced and sustained industrial
growth. As of 1987, China's leaders were aware of the need for
greater industrial efficiency and productivity, and were striving
to achieve these goals.
* * *
Industrial growth prior to 1949 is outlined by John K. Chang in
Industrial Development in Pre-Communist China. Thomas G.
Rawski describes the development of the producer goods industries,
both before and after the founding of the People's Republic, in
China's Transition to Industrialism. A wealth of material on
Chinese industry is found in the two-volume set of China's
Economy Looks Toward the Year 2000, which includes an overview
article, and specific articles relating to the structure,
management, ownership and control, and finance and planning of
industry. It also describes and analyzes the energy sector in
detail.
Volume II of the World Bank Series, China: Socialist
Economic Development, contains information on industrial
organization, policy, strengths and weaknesses, and issues and
challenges. Another World Bank Study, China: Long-Term
Development Issues and Options, looks at some of the major
development issues facing China to the year 2000. Two RAND studies,
Industrial Innovation in China with Special Reference to the
Metallurgical Industry and Chinese Electronics Industry in
Transition, are excellent case studies, documenting China's
attempt to modernize its outdated industrial sector. The annual
State Statistical Yearbook of China provides figures on a
wide range of industrial categories. The monthly China Business
Review provides well-researched articles on many topics related
to industry, and the Country Report: China, North Korea,
(formerly Quarterly Economic Review of China, North Korea)
outlines economic events on a quarterly basis and provides annual
summaries. (For further information and complete citations,
see
Bibliography.)
Data as of July 1987
|
