The People's Republic of China is one of the greatest countries in the world. It stretches from the lofty heights of the Pamir Plateau to the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, and from the harsh taiga forests along the Amur River to the coral islands of tropical seas. In terms of area (9.9 million square kilometers), China is second only to the Soviet Union, slightly smaller than Canada, but larger than every other country in the world. China’s natural environment is rich and generous. Its diverse natural resources provide excellent conditions for the development of agriculture and industry and for the prosperity of hundreds of millions of people. For many centuries, however, the natural resources of the country served the great and industrious Chinese people only to a very limited extent. These resources remained largely unexplored and were exploited in a predatory manner. Until the establishment of the People’s Republic, China remained a backward agricultural country, serving as a vast market for the industrial goods of imperialist powers, a source of raw materials, and a means of extracting profits from the exploitation of Chinese laborers. The domination of foreign capital established in the second half of the nineteenth century, together with the oppression of the feudal bureaucratic system, long impeded China’s development. In terms of industrial production, the country ranked among the last in the world. For example, in 1937, although China accounted for nearly one quarter of the world’s population, it produced only 0.6% of the world’s coal, 0.5% of its iron ore, 0.35% of its pig iron, and 0.22% of its copper output. In 1933, China’s steel production was twenty-seven times lower than that of colonial India. Chinese industry was incapable of meeting even the most basic domestic demand for essential products. In the past, only those industrial sectors directly connected with the extraction or primary processing of raw materials were developed, in accordance with the interests of foreign companies. At the same time, almost all industry was concentrated in a narrow coastal zone, from which foreigners could more easily export the resources they had appropriated. Vast inland regions remained unexplored and lacked industrial development altogether. The imperialist powers controlled the most important sectors of the national economy and sought to preserve for as long as possible the feudal remnants that dominated every sphere of economic and social life. The victory of the People’s Democratic Revolution opened up broad opportunities for the development of China’s productive forces. For the first time, the Chinese people gained the possibility of carrying out economic construction in their own interests: developing and distributing all branches of production in the most rational manner and utilizing natural and human resources according to a planned system. In the years following liberation, the People’s Republic of China achieved remarkable successes. After rapidly restoring the economy that had been devastated during the war, the Chinese people launched their First Five-Year Plan for economic development in 1953. A new chapter in Chinese history began, the era of industrialization and rapid progress toward socialism. During the First Five-Year Plan period, great achievements were made in every sector of the national economy.