They lagged behind the West, and were unprepared for the possible outbreak of war. Political isolation and an economic embargo against China led by Western countries, that were unhappy with China's switch to a socialist regime, were present. .
Initially, during the first Five Year Plan, the focus on heavy-industry seemed to have a successful effect on China. However, due to certain governmental decisions and actions, catastrophic events occurred. Incorrect figures regarding agricultural output, and the elimination of private farming plots, led to one the worst events in China's recent history, the Great Famine, which lasted from 1959 through 1961. The unrealistic and incorrect figures caused even more investment to be removed from the agricultural sector and to be invested in heavy-industry. In 1959, at the beginning of the Chinese Great Famine, a massive miscalculation in agricultural planning occurred, due to the combination of mismanagement of agriculture brought on by the commune system, and the acceptance of the inflated agricultural output figures. The resulting decline in food production and a poorly organized food distribution system, eventually led to the largest famine of the twentieth century. .
The Logic Behind the Decision.
As mentioned in the previous section, at the beginning of economic development, China was at a rather low level economically. The main goal of China's leaders was to make the country strong and its people rich, and to accomplish this as soon as possible. China's initial focus on heavy industry could be seen as a natural occurrence, since the country's leaders considered the lack of industrialization to be the main cause of the country's backwardness. China's leaders believed that the sooner they were able to establish a heavy-industry oriented economy, the sooner they would reach the same economic level as the West. As previously mentioned, this was critical for China to overcome, due to political isolation and economic obstruction directed towards China.
