Country, Province, County and the State-controlled Grain Purchase and Sales System (1953-1957)

Author: Tian Xiquan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-06-01
Features: This book is part of the research outcomes of the major project "The Theory and Practice of China's Modernization" sponsored by the Ministry of Education, with the Center for the Study of China's Modernization and the West at Fudan University as the leading institution. Food is a major issue concerning the national economy and people's livelihood. Since 1950, the Chinese Communist Party's grain policies have been closely linked to political strategies involving the takeover of power and the transformation of traditional production relations in urban and rural areas. The history of China's grain policies for the first four decades of the People's Republic of China is essentially the history of the formulation, implementation, and evolution of the grain unified purchase and distribution policy. This policy was a far-reaching strategic decision by the central government in the field of grain allocation and circulation, which later developed into a comprehensive system of unified purchase and distribution for agricultural products, including grain, edible oils, cotton, and cotton fabric. It was not only an economic policy that was implemented for a long time but also a policy with significance for the basic social system. The implementation of unified purchase and distribution was referred to as the second major battle on the financial front of the new China after stabilizing prices and unifying national financial and economic work, and its impact far exceeded the fields of grain circulation and agriculture.