In the 1960s, china launched a huge industrial movement — three-line construction — that lasted for decades. Unlike other economic constructions, the core of this economic connection is the protection of military industry。
In the new era, the state has from time to time referred to three lines of construction and, more recently, to new ones. How does the triple construction affect national development? What's the reason
Why do we have to do three-line construction
In 1960, the centre launched a call for a national union — three lines. This was a major strategic adjustment on an unprecedented scale since the establishment of the new china, the core idea being “preparedness”。
In the 1960s, the international environment had deteriorated rapidly and the possibility of china facing war had increased significantly. After the korean war, the united states, despite being forced to withdraw, remained apprehensive about china and had signed anti-china treaties with a number of asian countries, set up military bases everywhere and imposed a common siege on china。
India, which has a long-standing dispute with china, has taken advantage of this opportunity to continue to work at the border, to encroach on our land, and to wage many small wars to bring china down. Japan and the democratic people's republic of korea on the other side, on the advice of the united states, do not conceal any hostility towards china and block china from economic, diplomatic, etc。
And the soviet union, which had been side by side, had changed its attitude during that period, beginning to crush and alienate china. In particular, following stalin's death, the new khrushchev pursued a hostile policy. In order to compete for territory, the presence of a large number of troops on the border between the two countries is even more blatantly threatening to launch a nuclear bomb into china in a destructive attack。
In addition to the above-mentioned threats, taiwan, a sea-seated taiwan, with behind-the-scenes support from the united states, calls for military counterattacks and claims to establish a guerrilla-war corridor to form a united front for china。
It is in this context of diplomatic distress that the centre has put forward the slogan “three-line construction”, the most critical of which is the protection and development of defence forces in response to imminent war。
In terms of location, the eastern coastal area is the focus of the country's economic and industrial development, and the western part, particularly the south-western interior, is relatively lagging because of historical and geographical conditions. Three-line construction involves the migration of industries from developed to less developed landlocked areas。
The so-called “three line” refers to seven provinces such as yun guigawa and parts of the cities of shanxi, involving 13 provinces. The third line, which mainly develops national projects, has been deployed and deployed throughout the country. In addition, there is a concept of a “little three-line” that refers to a relatively closed and difficult terrain inside the first and second-line areas. The third line is more of a provincial and municipal defence project。
This is due to the ease of transport in the first-line areas and the concentration of the terrain in industries. In the event of a war, which would attract heavy artillery fire, china would be paralysed as soon as the infrastructure was devastated if it was not moved ahead。
In 1964, after extensive research and discussion, the state finally put the three-line construction on the agenda and the atomic bomb was included in the broader framework as a priority protection project。
As soon as 1965, when the so-called high-speed soldiers came to power, more than 300 medium-sized and medium-sized projects, including steel, petrochemicals and the lifelines of the military industry, had been established, all of which had been deployed and were operational。
From its inception, the state has set its course, and the centrepiece of the third line is the establishment of a second defence industrial system to respond to the vagaries of the international environment。
How did the triple construction work
Following the first construction culmination in 1965, the third-line construction entered a new phase in the early 1970s. Many military-industrial enterprises and infrastructure are constantly being established and improved, with enormous implications for national development。
For example, the seon-kun railway, which is the second in the 10th in the north of the lake, is still operating effectively today, with a constant flow of power for economic development。
From today's point of view, while there are some shortcomings and problems, the impact of the three-line construction, both in terms of scale and impact, is enormous. There can be no major developments in the west today without a three-line construction。
For the western interior, the three-line construction of the year, although not subjectively intended to develop the west, laid the material foundation for development in the west, which was the key opportunity to overcome the poverty and backwardness of the west。
The third line has improved the road network in the west, and many important railway roads have been built, making many cities that were previously closed and backward, the hub of prosperity. The development of the cities of chengdu and kunming, for example, has benefited from the railways of kawakawa and sungkun. The northern state of lan also developed as a result of the rail transport network。
Transport construction was a very important part of the three-line project in that year. In addition to railways, a total of 220,000 kilometres of roads were built throughout the country, double the length of the original length. In remote mountainous and ethnic areas in the west, long-term isolation and movement of goods and people have also been broken。
With regard to the relationship between the third line of work and the western area, a brief summary can be drawn from the third line, which provides a solid foundation for modernization in the west. It is because of the relocation of offshore mining companies and the movement of technicians that thousands of enterprises have been established in the west in just over a decade, and their energy advantages have been effectively exploited。
For example, the south-west mechanical industrial base, centred on chongqing, and industrial cities that develop automobiles, heavy machinery and so on, have made these areas look new。
The impact of construction on the western part of the country has not been so great. In order to support the construction efforts, the elites from all parts of the country came on three fronts, where they took root and made an indelible contribution to regional development。
According to statistics, in sichuan province alone, there are more than 600,000 science and technology workers. In other areas, such as the north of hunan, over 300,000 new talent has been added. In addition to building up, they have contributed significantly to the development of regional education and scientific research。
By the mid-1980s, more than 300 institutions of higher education and thousands of scientific institutions had been established in the three-line zone, creating a strong scientific power。
Three-line construction in the new era
As mentioned earlier, the third line is a concept that emerges in a particular historical context and has a very clear purpose — national defence. Thus, in terms of economic layout, problems such as location mismatches with regional circumstances and product homogeneity are inevitable. As a result of the gradual improvement in the international environment, the third line of work has begun to adapt to the times and has been rationalized。
Following the reform and opening up, in 1979 the state introduced a new slogan, reprogramming and reprogramming three-line industrial configurations and infrastructure. The new plan takes into account the overall regional level, resources, etc., and seeks new directions for the regional economy。
The most notable of these restructured industries is the former defence science and technology industry. The restructuring resulted in the formation of a conventional military engineering base centred on chongqing and the conversion of other parts to civilian industries, such as the electronics industry of skywater, the nuclear industry of spongeyang and the space base of xichang。
By the beginning of the century, many of the original three-line projects had moved into the open-door areas, generating and generating a new set of small businesses and creating new industrial clusters with strong combined power。
It can be said that the third line of construction is a great success for the economy of the west and the country as a whole, and that it is a great credit to the defence, industry, transport, education and technology sectors. The “triple spirit” that once inspired generations of builders was a very valuable spiritual asset。
"new line 3 construction" begins
In recent years, on many important occasions, the state has made numerous references to building a “new three-line”。
Although we are far from the smoke of war, we are not in an optimistic international environment. The frequent occurrence in recent years of geographical disputes, natural disasters and deliberate obstacles by the states of the united states and the west are a constant reminder of the precariousness of our minds。
The united states, in particular, has not abandoned their indo-pacific strategy, which has focused on curbing china. In an attempt to block china’s development, the united states has made numerous efforts to support the philippines’ competition for the south china sea islands, its borrowing of taiwan, etc., and has even directly set up economic barriers to curb china’s foreign trade。
So there are many similarities between china's current situation and the third-line period, and we are fighting a war without smoke — an economic war。
At the 3rd plenum, the state placed particular emphasis on the importance of industrial chain and supply chain security, which are closely linked to the country's economic security and could lead to large-scale economic paralysis if broken or problems arise. The importance of these two components is equal to that of the current defence forces。
According to statistics, by 2023, the country's dependence on imports of advanced materials, such as integrated circuits, had reached 70 per cent, and our high-technology industry would be severely hit by a ban on sales。
That is why, at the conference, the state proposed to strengthen the backup of strategic hinterlands and key industries and to make every effort to ensure our international competitiveness, which is at the heart of the new three-line construction。
In terms of the domestic economic landscape, the new three-line construction also balances the regional economy, particularly the development gap between inland and coastal areas. According to statistics from 2023, GDP in the east accounted for 58. 7 per cent of the country's total, with a total of 41. 3 per cent in the large central and western regions, and the regional economic gap needs to be addressed。
A new three-line construction would also accelerate our progress towards manufacturing power. According to last year's data, our investment in scientific research was 2. 8 trillion, but in core technological areas, the competitiveness of domestic enterprises needs to be strengthened. This has again highlighted the importance of enhanced backup for key industries。
As of today, our history of building on the third line is moving away, but the times are changing, the core contradictions are unchanged, and the new and the old three lines respond to each other in a spirit of silence for national development。
