In 1945, World War II ended, and the Axis Powers including Japan surrendered. However, after the War, China returned to their own, The Civil War, which lasted until 1950. After World War II, there were both benefits but many negative aspects as well that impacted China.
RUXUAN ZHANG
Did China become stronger or weaker after WWII?
China used to be one of the leading civilisations of the world, making huge advances in both arts and sciences. However, around the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, China faced civil discord, major military losses, foreign colonisation and serious shortage of food. During and after World War II, China underwent several political and economic reforms that have caused it to become what it is today:
Mao Zedong and his communist party established an autocratic socialist government (autocratic: one ruler that has supreme power, socialist: production, distribution and exchange are owned by the community) that stopped political and civil unrest, as his government was met with popular support.
Although China may have some flaws, it has no doubt become a much stronger country than it was in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Mao Zedong and his communist party established an autocratic socialist government (autocratic: one ruler that has supreme power, socialist: production, distribution and exchange are owned by the community) that stopped political and civil unrest, as his government was met with popular support.
- Mao Zedong’s successors (e.g. Deng Xiaoping) concentrated on improving China’s economic development and managed to quadruple China’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) by 2000. Mao Zedong’s successors also increased China’s international outreach (e.g. Open Door Policy: attract more foreign companies to invest in China, Joined World Trade Organisation etc.). This has caused much of the population’s living standards to improve dramatically (e.g. A lot more children are receiving tertiary education, Much larger consumption of products such as smartphones and cars, Higher life expectancy).
Although China may have some flaws, it has no doubt become a much stronger country than it was in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Citation:
Wang, Andrew. "Why Was China so Weak during the 19th Century and Early 20th Century That They Were Humiliated so Badly by the British during the Opium War and Defeated so Thoroughly by the Western Nations during the Boxer Rebellion?" Why Was China so Weak during the 19th Century and Early 20th Century That They Were Humiliated so Badly by the British during the Opium War and Defeated so Thoroughly by the Western Nations during the Boxer Rebellion? Quora, 6 Jan. 2015. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.
Worden, Robert L., Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan. Postwar China. Digital image. Postwar China. Shsu, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.
Wang, Andrew. "Why Was China so Weak during the 19th Century and Early 20th Century That They Were Humiliated so Badly by the British during the Opium War and Defeated so Thoroughly by the Western Nations during the Boxer Rebellion?" Why Was China so Weak during the 19th Century and Early 20th Century That They Were Humiliated so Badly by the British during the Opium War and Defeated so Thoroughly by the Western Nations during the Boxer Rebellion? Quora, 6 Jan. 2015. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.
Worden, Robert L., Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan. Postwar China. Digital image. Postwar China. Shsu, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.