R. China Adopts Russian Model

China then adopted an economic model based on the Soviet model. This Five-Year Plan covered 1953-1957. This period marked the closest collaboration between China and the Soviet Union. Thousands of Soviet technical advisors came to China to help with factory building, industrial planning, the development of hydroelectric power, and the extension of the railway network and urban architecture. Chinese peasants received requirements that they must sell more than a quarter of their crops to the central government at extremely low prices. This ensured adequate food supplies and helped keep wages down. In 1953, the first official census showed a population of 582.6 million and by 1957 the population rose to 646.5 million. Bank interest in 1949 had risen to 80-90 percent and dropped to 3 percent by 1951.

In the "100 Flowers Movement," China encouraged intellectuals to criticize the CCP of its shortcomings. After encouragement, some did so and the movement spread. The net result showed some 30,000 individuals branded as "rightists," a label threatened their careers and for many their lives. Mao never trusted the intellectuals again in his lifetime.