Research Of The Economic Policies Of The Chinese Communist Party To The Private Economy In The Early Days Of The People’s Republic Of China

This thesis takes the economic policies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to the private economy in the early days of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the research object. It studies some economic policies of CCP to the private economy, such as the policy of support and utilization, the policy of restriction and guide, etc., on the base of analyzing these policies systematically and studying the related conditions in Nantong region from1949to1952empirically. It also covers the related policies and strategies of dealing with the relationship between the public economy and the private economy and examines the microscopic effects of them. It also investigates the referential significances of these economic policies to the present ones of CCP and its government to the private economy.The thesis consists of the following six parts:The first part, Introduction, deals with the topic selection of this research, the literature review, the related definitions as well as the basic concepts and the methodology, etc.Chapter one is the survey of the private economy in Nantong region in the early days of PRC. It examines the industrial and commercial rises and developments in the pre-modern Nantong region from the historical and realistic point of views. And then it deals with the necessities and possibilities of restoring and developing the private economy by probing the economic and social structures and the national economic conditions. Finally it discusses the relationship between the changes of the political and economic structures of the society and the recovery and development of the private economy, by giving a macroscopic description of those of the private economy in Nantong region in the early days of PRC as well as the formulation and development of the public ownership economy.Chapter two deals with the recognition and the economic policy of CCP to the private economy:support and utilization. This chapter examines the process of the recognition of CCP to the functions and significances of the private economy, by analyzing the support and utilization of CCP to the private economy. On this base, it goes on studying the policy of support and utilization of the government in Nantong region to the private industry and commerce. It also comments the significances of this policy to the social reconstruction and the recovery of the national economy in Nantong region. It also probes the referential significances of the policy of support and utilization of CCP to the private economy further.This chapter consists of the following basic arguments:the economic theory and policies of CCP to the private economy were developed in the process of dealing with the capitalism in the democratic revolution; the policy of support and utilization of CCP to the private economy was developed and perfected in the practice of the Chinese Soviet Area, the Border Area and the Liberated Area, on the base of recognizing the status and the functions of the private economy; since the first task of the government in the early days of the new China was to recover and develop the productivity, CCP and its government allowed the private economy to play an active role in the economy recovery by stimulating and supporting the private industry and commerce to return to work and resume production and management; Nantong, as a prefecture-level city governed by the Subei Administrative Office, also supported and utilized the private economy under the leadership of the local government and the local committee of CCP. To be exactly, it carried out the decisions and policies of the Huadong Bureau and the Subei Administrative Office and showed some of its characteristic policies according to its local features, its three historic stages as well as its own social and economic characteristics. This promoted the recovery and development of the private economy. It also played a very important role in the economic recovery of Nantong region as well as the consolidation of the new government.Chapter three further develops the recognition and the economic policy of CCP to the private economy:the policy of restriction and guide. Starting from the relationship between restriction and guide, and taking the practice in Nantong region as a case, it states how CCP and its government carried out the policy in practice, how they managed to make a balance between restriction and guide. It also analyzes how the government in Nantong region applied this policy from a specific and microscopic level. It finally deals with the referential significances and the profound effects of this policy to the present society.The central ideas of this part are as following:the characteristics of the private economy made CCP take both the policy of support and utilization and the policy of restriction and guide to it at the same time. CCP would take different strategies to restrict and guide the private economy in different historic stages, while its recognition to the characteristics of the private economy was always kept consistent. According to the spirit of the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of CCP and the regulations of the Common Program of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), CCP and its government encouraged the recovery and development of the private economy, but they controlled the degree of its exploitation by making the regulations of price, tax, labor and the distribution of profit, etc. They also tried to reduce the negative effects of the private economy by controlling the raw material, the supply of goods and the administration of the market, etc. The local government in Nantong region, under the leadership of the Huadong Bureau and the Subei Administrative Office, taking the advantage of its administration of the raw material, the supply of goods and market, restricted and guided the private economy to work in the national planned economy system by controlling the price, tax, labor and the distribution of profit, etc. In order to perform this policy, the government in Nantong region took the strategy of "uniting and fighting" and that of "moderately restriction". They were in conformity with the principles of the central government and the Subei Administrative Office, meanwhile it showed its local features. The policy of restriction and guide and that of support and utilization worked together, supporting and supplementing each other. They both paved the way for the quick recovery of the economy in Nantong region and led a right development for it as well. They also exerted profound effects on the private economy in Nantong region, such as its development patterns and management patterns, its distributions in the different trades, and the transformation of the businessmen’s thoughts, etc.Chapter four studies the recognition of CCP to the relationship between the public economy and the private economy:the cooperation and the division of labor. It starts from how to understand the relationship between the public economy and the private economy, and then it goes on examining the basic principles of CCP of how to deal with the relationship between the public economy and the private economy. Taking the practice in Nantong region as an example, the thesis also analyses its experiences and lessons of dealing with the relationship between the public economy and the private economy of the local government and some basic organizations. It also investigates, from the perspective of the cooperation and the division of labor, the principles of dealing with relationship between the public economy and the private economy in the diversified-ownership economic system.The key points of this chapter are:after the long-term recognition and the practice of dealing with the relationship between the public economy and the private economy in the new democratic revolution, CCP finally decided to take such a basic principle:with its predominance in the national economy, the public economy should cooperate the private economy, divide labor with it and make each economy get what it should get. In the early days of PRC, CCP took the policy of support and utilization and that of restriction and guide, which functioned by adjusting the relationship between the public economy and the private economy. The policies and experiences of dealing with the relationship between the public economy and the private economy were the bases and premises of the social transformation strategies of CCP to the private industry and commerce. All strategies dealing with this relationship, such as processing, ordering, selling on a commission basis, co-managing of the public economy and the private economy, etc., were not only served as the important methods of utilizing and restricting the private economy but also as the channels of the socialist transformation of the private economy step by step. When dealing with the relationship between these two kinds of economy, the government in Nantong region, carrying out the related policies made by the Subei Administrative Office, took a series of effective strategies and methods, according to the local conditions of the relationship between the public economy and the private economy. Generally speaking, these strategies and methods were proper for the local social and economic conditions of Nantong region and were in accordance with the basic policies of CCP and its government to the private economy. Although there are some imperfections at the microscopic level, the strategies and methods taken by the government in Nantong region were effective and successful. They have achieved their support, utilization, restriction and guide to the private economy by means of adjusting the relationship between the public economy and the private economy.The last part, Conclusion, summarizes all the key points in this thesis. It also explores the referential significances of the economic policies of CCP to the private economy in the early days of PRC to the present norms and management of the private economy as well as that to the relationship between the public economy and the private economy, by the practice of recovering and developing the private economy in Nantong region.The conclusions of the thesis are as following:the economic policy of support and utilization of CCP to the private economy was determined by the special position of the private economy in the revolution and the construction of China. In some special historical stages, the private economy should be supported and utilized, while the policy of restriction and guide was determined by both some characteristics of the private economy, such as exploiting the laborers, chasing higher profits, etc., and the contradiction between the nature of the new China and the direction of its development. In the diversified-ownership economic system, the relationship between the public economy and the private economy is an important factor which affects the implementation of the economic policies of CCP to the private economy. The policy of support and utilization and that of restriction and guide were important fruits of sinicization and modernization of Marxism. They were the forerunners that have provided useful experiences to the present economic policies of CCP to the private economy. The adjustment and changes of the private economic policies in the earlier days of PRC also reflects the complexity of sinicization and modernization of Marxism. They have exerted profound effects on the present economic policies of CCP and its government to the private economy.The creativities of this thesis are as following: The creative use of the reference documents.Compared to the most studies about the economic policies of CCP to the private economy in the early days of PRC which are based on the documents and profiles in the archives in the big cities, such as Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, etc., the reference documents of this research are mainly from the profiles in the archives in Nantong region, along with those from the documents of CCP. Most of them are used as the research reference documents for the first time.The creative perspective of the research.As we know, there have been many macroscopic researches of the economic policies of CCP to the private economy in the early days of PRC. On the contrary, however, the microscopic research of it, esp. the research of the conditions in the middle or small cities, such as Nantong, is very rare. So this thesis takes a quite fresh and creative perspective of research.The creativity of the arguments.This thesis researches the recognition of CCP to the private economy in two levels: the recognition of its status and the recognition of its characteristics. Accordingly, its arguments of the economic policies of CCP to the private economy develop in two levels as well:the policy of support and utilization and the policy of restriction and guide. In particular, this study investigates how to deal with the relationship between the public economy and the private economy from a new perspective, which regards it as a method of carrying out these economic policies. Therefore the conclusion of this research should be more convictive and more valuable, as the reference materials for the further studies of the present economic policies of CCP to the private economy.