Everything Everywhere Daily · Friday, August 14, 2026
Following the catastrophic Great Leap Forward, Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqi were tasked with addressing the economic crisis. Deng advocated for market principles, including privatizing land, re-establishing local markets, and promoting skilled industry leaders, which helped slow the disaster and restore agricultural production.
“The party leadership called on Deng Xiaoping and his associate Liu Shaoqi to address the economic problems.”
“He advocated a transition to foundational market principles.”
“Deng's solution was the privatization of agricultural land for peasants, the re-establishment of local markets where peasants could sell their crops, and the promotion of industry leaders with technical skills rather than party loyalty.”