Rural Small-Scale Industry in the People's Republic of China

The report explores the rural small-scale industry in the People's Republic of China, focusing on county-jurisdiction factories that blend indigenous and modern technology, serve agriculture first, and evolve quickly in scale and technique. It highlights the importance of self-reliance, labor-intensive land and water works, and peak-season labor bottlenecks that justify mechanization. The report also discusses the benefits of small-scale siting, such as faster build-out, less downtime, fit-for-purpose designs, and fewer urban infrastructure costs. It provides an overview of the engineering feasibility of small-scale industry, including power, product quality, and material efficiency, and discusses administration, incentives, sector deep-dives, agriculture impacts, employment/gender/administration effects, and education/training pipelines. The report emphasizes the importance of starting with what can be done now, letting practice generate capability and capital, and ratcheting toward bigger, more modern, lower-cost operations while keeping agriculture at the center.

Format: Hardback
Length: 310 pages
Publication date: 13 May 2022
Publisher: University of California Press

Rural Small-Scale Industry in the Peoples Republic of China delves into the diverse and evolving landscape of county-jurisdiction factories, encompassing both rural and urban settings. A delegation of 12 individuals, well-versed in China, conducted a study of these enterprises during the summer of 1975. These enterprises, driven by self-reliance, combine indigenous and modern technologies, primarily serving agriculture, and experience rapid growth in scale and technique. Case regions such as Hsi-yang (Tachai) in Shanxi and Lin County in Henan demonstrate how large-scale land and water works, such as terracing, flood tunnels, and the Red Flag Canal, create demand for cement, fertilizer, and farm machinery. As yields increase, peak-season labor bottlenecks arise, necessitating mechanization. In flatter areas like Wuxi in Jiangsu and the North China Plain, pre-existing water control allows for a more streamlined process, with inputs and machinery introduced earlier. Small-scale siting offers advantages such as reduced transportation and marketing challenges by processing local resources near users, minimizing haulage, expediting repairs, tailoring to local agronomy, and narrowing the urban-rural social gap. However, it does not aim to replace large urban industries or primarily focus on regional equalization or off-farm job creation. The report adopts a descriptive approach, focusing on 50 plants and 10 communes, which may not be representative of the entire landscape. The data collected were provided by the hosts, and there may be variations in the availability of information. Despite these limitations, the report highlights the reasons why counties choose to build locally, despite the potential for scale economies. Faster build-out, reduced downtime, customized designs, and lower urban infrastructure costs are some of the advantages highlighted. However, the report also acknowledges the unresolved system-level efficiency questions that the Chinese were hesitant to "price out" in Western cost-benefit terms. The feasibility of engineering solutions is determined by factors such as power supply (grid ties, small hydropower) and product quality.

Weight: 499g
Dimension: 210 x 148 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520360969