During the period 1949 to 1979, communist China was officially pursuing a policy of self-sufficiency, and the United States and its allies were officially implementing a trade embargo against communist China. However, this book, based on extensive original research, demonstrates that China was highly dependent on Western/Japanese grain imports. The text shows that groups lobbying on behalf of Western/Japanese grain producers and related industries had successfully found ways of by-passing the embargo. This book charts the complicated picture of how economic relations between China, the West and Japan developed in these years.

About the Author

Chad J. Mitcham, a London-based writer and researcher, recieved his PhD in History at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He has studied and worked in several countries.

Reviews

'This book is a valuable contribution to our fuller understanding of China's post 1949 economic development' - Christopher Howe, The China Quarterly, 196, December 2008

"Mitcham reviews the economic and foreign trade diplomacy conducted between China on the one hand and Japan and the West on the other. A particular focus of the work is on how China's diplomatic policies successfully undermined the American-led trade embargo between 1949 and 1979. Another major and interrelated theme is the gradual Chinese abandonment of Mao's policy of self-reliance through a halting "readjustment" process based on reduced industrialization targets; the gradual lessening of Chinese economic dependence on the Soviet Union; the purchase of Western and Japanese equipment, complete industrial installations, related technology, and technical support, and a return to the pre-revolutionary policy of importing Western grain." --Reference & Research Book News

Book Information
ISBN 9780415646574
Author Chad Mitcham
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 560g