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p In the east the Soviet Union has an 11,000-kilometre-long common frontier with the socialist countries of Asia. Of them only the Democratic Republic of Vietnam does not border on the USSR. The socialist countries of Asia are situated in the eastern and southeastern parts of the continent and have a long Pacific coastline.

p Covering an area of over 11,000,000 sq. km., the socialist countries of Asia possess enormous natural and manpower resources which open before them vast prospects for economic and cultural development.

p The Asian socialist countries launched upon the road of socialist construction at different periods of time.

p Established in 1921, the Mongolian People’s Republic was the first Asian country to take the road of socialism.

The Democratic Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed on September 2, 1945 following the victory of the national popular-democratic revolution. The Korean People’s Democratic Republic was established in 1948. The Chinese People’s Republic emerged in 1949 following the victory of the people’s revolution in the country.

MONGOLIAN PEOPLE’S
REPUBLIC

p Mongolia, which has an area of over 1,500,000 sq. km., lies almost precisely in the geographic centre of Asia. The greater part of the republic is covered by mountains and 84 plateaus, and although the landscape is picturesque, climatic and natural conditions are difficult.

p Mongolia has a fairly rigorous climate. Winters are long and cold with the temperature frequently falling as low as—40° C. In summer the temperature rises to +40°C.

p The republic abounds in fertile pastures, and rivers and lakes inhabited by valuable species of fish. Mongolia has a varied flora and fauna, and proven deposits of coal, iron, gold, copper, lead, tin, tungsten and fluorite.

p For centuries the arats, common herdsmen, suffered under the yoke of feudal and colonial slavery. Foreign merchants and local feudal lords mercilessly plundered the people who were gradually dying out even after the establishment, in the beginning of the 20th century, of the so-called autonomous Mongolian state.

p It was the popular revolution carried out with the support and assistance of Soviet Russia that brought freedom and a new life to the Mongolian people. The October Socialist Revolution in Russia had a tremendous impact on the liberation struggle of the Mongolian people and helped mould the world outlook of its leader Sukhe-Bator. Speaking at a conference of the Russian Communist Party in 1920 in Irkutsk, Sukhe-Bator declared that the Party’s appeal had been heard by the herdsmen in the wild Mongolian steppes enslaved by the local theocratic feudal lords, Chinese militarists and world capital. "The peoples of the East are rising,” said Sukhe-Bator. "The Russian communist revolution has lit the flames of revolution in the East.”

p The Mongolian Revolution was consummated in July 1921, and the Mongolian People’s Republic became the first country in the world to launch the construction of socialism bypassing the capitalist stage of development. Since the establishment of people’s power Mongolia has eliminated her economic backwardness and effected profound socio-economic reforms which have resulted in the establishment of a single socialist economy and led to a sharp rise in the standard of living and the cultural level of the population. There are over 500 general and specialised schools in the country. Her institutions of higher learning are training highly-qualified national personnel. Mongolian science and culture are developing apace.

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p Mongolia has a population of over 1,200,000. Formerly a country with a diminishing population, Mongolia today is characterised by a rapid natural growth of population. Prior to the establishment of people’s power medicine, in the modern sense of the word, was unknown in the country, whereas now there are 17 doctors per 10,000 of the population, or 7-8 times more than in Pakistan, Iran or Turkey.

p Present-day Mongolia is an agricultural-industrial country, in which agriculture yields over 20 per cent of the national income. Agriculture is developing on a new social and technical basis. Former nomad herdsmen have united in agricultural associations. There are over 10,000 tractors, 2,000 grain combines and other modern agricultural machines and implements at the farms.

p Animal husbandry, the traditional occupation of the Mongolians, specialises in sheep- and goat-breeding (nearly 18 million head) and cattle-raising (over 2 million head). For the number of cattle (20 head) per capita of population Mongolia holds a leading place in the world. Animal products are the chief items of export.

p Stock-breeding is nomadic as it has always been with herdsmen driving the cattle from pasture to pasture. But now there is a new element in it. At the central estates of agricultural associations there are boarding schools, hotels, firstaid stations, clubs and communal services available to the arats and their families. Animal husbandry is becoming less and less dependent on the whims of nature. State machine and stock-breeding stations lay in sufficient fodder to feed the cattle in the winter. Wells are dug on the pastures and there are sheds to protect the cattle from winter frosts. A network of veterinary stations is being organised.

p Farming is developing. The principal trend is the cultivation of grain crops, and wheat is grown on mechanised state farms in virgin lands. State farms yield 80 per cent of the total grain harvest and 90 per cent of the potatoes and vegetables. Mongolia is self-sufficient in grain and other foodstuffs.

p Thanks to socialist industrialisation Mongolia is becoming an industrial-agricultural country. Gross industrial output in Mongolia has increased 15 times since 1940. Today her industry and construction yield over a third of the national income.

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p Mongolia has extractive and manufacturing industries, the latter producing woollen fabrics, felt, leather, footwear and meat products and other items. The output of non-ferrous metals, fluorite and coal is mounting and the country’s power stations annually generate over 500 million kwh of electricity. The production of cement and other building materials is being organised. In the past few years alone over a hundred industrial enterprises were built in Mongolia with the fraternal assistance of other socialist states.

p The development of natural resources and further economic growth depend directly on the expansion of the transport system. A decisive role in the freight turnover is played by railways and the motor transport, particularly along the routes linking the republic with the USSR.

p Industrial towns are rising along the main transport routes in places where natural resources are being worked. A case in point is Darkhan, a town built near the Transmongolian Railway in the vicinity of the Sharyn-Gol coal mines north of Ulan-Bator. A powerful industrial complex is being built in the town with the assistance of socialist countries.

Ulan-Bator, Mongolia’s capital and principal industrial centre, vividly demonstrates the country’s headway in economic and cultural development. Ulan-Bator is the seat of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and the University. It also has colleges, theatres and other scientific and cultural institutions.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
OF VIETNAM

p A struggle for the right to build a new life united in a single family is being waged by the people of Vietnam, another Asian country which imperialism divided into the northern and southern parts after the Second World War. A provisional demarcation line divides Vietnam at about 17°N. As in Korea, the inhabitants of North and South Vietnam are developing along different roads. But they are united by a single objective—their common struggle for an integral, independent, democratic and flourishing state.

p North Vietnam has an area of 158,000 sq. km. and 20 million inhabitants, and South Vietnam has an area of 171,000 sq. km. and 17 million inhabitants.

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p North Vietnam has carried out fundamental socio- economic reforms and is now building the material and technical basis of socialism. The agrarian reform did away with the survivals of feudalism in the country and the peasants are united in co-operatives. The nationalisation of industry was conducted parallel with the building of new modern enterprises, the cultural revolution put an end to illiteracy, and there was a steady improvement in the standard of life.

p The escalation of the US aggression in Vietnam and the US air raids on North Vietnam seriously damaged the republic’s economy. Many towns and villages have been wrecked. Industrial enterprises, roads, irrigation systems, hospitals and schools have been destroyed or damaged. There have been considerable losses of life. US imperialism is continuing its provocations against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam even though Washington, giving in to the pressure of world public opinion, officially announced the cessation of air raids on North Vietnam. In 1972, the Americans resumed their bombing of peaceful towns and villages in the DRV. In these, new conditions, the republic is mobilising the people for the task of building socialism.

p Over 500 industrial enterprises subject to local authorities have become operational in various parts of North Vietnam. Machine-building and metal-working factories, whose output is essential for the rehabilitation and development of the economy, are now accounting for a much greater part of the output of the local industry, which also keeps the population supplied with fabrics, clothes, salt and other key commodities.

p State farms and agricultural co-operatives are making two bumper rice harvests, the country’s chief crop. The area planted to maize, batatas, manioc, legumes and other crops, whose cultivation is less labour-intensive, is being enlarged. The production of vegetables and oil-bearing plants is increasing.

p There are 26 institutions of higher learning, and over 130 vocational schools in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and a steadily increasing number of general education schools and medical institutions.

p The working people are making every effort to fulfil the main task: safeguard the North, liberate the South and reunite the country.

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p The working people of the republic are mustering all their strength and resources to safeguard the gains of socialism. The Soviet Union and other socialist countries are increasing their gratuitous assistance to fighting Vietnam.

Of great significance for the struggle of the Vietnamese people for their freedom and independence has been the formation in 1969 of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, which has already been recognised by many countries.

KOREAN PEOPLE’S
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

p Korea was liberated in 1945 by the Soviet Army which expelled the Japanese colonialists from the country. Subsequently, however, as a result of the aggressive policy of the US imperialists who are supporting the reactionary circles in South Korea, the country was divided into two parts separated by the 38th parallel. Since then North Korea and South Korea have been advancing along different roads.

p The Korean People’s Democratic Republic was established in 1948 in North Korea where power was assumed by the people. In less than a quarter of a century the Korean People’s Democratic Republic has become an advanced industrial-agrarian socialist state.

p South Korea, where 60,000 US troops are stationed, is virtually a semi-colony of the United States.

p Lying in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, the Korean People’s Democratic Republic is bigger than South Korea but has a smaller population. The Korean People’s Democratic Republic has an area of 121,000 sq. km. and 13 million inhabitants; South Korea has an area of 100,000 sq. km. and 30 million inhabitants.

p Socialist Korea is an epoch ahead of South Korea in social and economic development, and is advancing at a truly unprecedented pace. Although the war of 1950-53, precipitated by the aggression of the US imperialists, greatly damaged its economy, the Korean People’s Democratic Republic within a brief space of time rehabilitated and then rapidly boosted its economy.

p The industrial output of socialist Korea increased more 89 than 20 times over the 1948 figure. The iron and steel, nonferrous, machine-tool and instrument-making, chemical and power engineering industries were built up virtually from scratch. The engineering industry now accounts for approximately 30 per cent of the gross industrial output.

p Metallurgy, engineering and chemical industries are the key branches of the country’s industry. Factories in Chongjin and Kim Chaek annually produce over 2.2 million tons of ferrous metals. Kom Dok, the country’s biggest mine, is yielding increasing quantities of lead and zinc ore. The annual output of coal exceeds 27 million tons. Machinebuilding plants in Pyongyang, Wonsan and Hungnam manufacture machine-tools, apparatuses, motor vehicles, tractors, electric locomotives and various equipment. The Hungnam chemical factory turns out mineral fertiliser and many other types of chemical products.

p The republic’s power-supply base is expanding. New thermal and hydroelectric schemes are being built and put into operation. The hydroelectric stations on mountain rivers account for the bulk of the electricity generated in the country. Incidentally, the arms of the republic is a hydroelectric station surrounded by ears of rice.

p Electrification, which is conducted simultaneously with mechanisation and irrigation, is raising the productivity of agriculture. The latter specialises in the production of rice and other grain crops whose annual harvest is approximately 5,000,000 tons. Animal husbandry is making good progress. Large vegetable farms are being established around the capital Pyongyang and other industrial centres.

The economic and cultural upsurge in the Korean People’s Democratic Republic is taking place in conditions of unceasing provocations on the part of the South Korean reactionary circles and their American patrons.

CHINESE PEOPLE’S
REPUBLIC

p China has the largest population in the world—over 700 million. Covering an area of about 10 million sq. km., China is almost as big as the whole of Europe and is second in size only to the Soviet Union.

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p The Chinese people have contributed a great deal to the development of world culture, but in the past they themselves had no access to it. For a long period China was one of Asia’s backward semi-feudal states, and for almost a century was an oppressed semi-colony of world imperialism.

p Complex historical developments and national liberation movements undermined the foundations of the Chinese empire. The efforts of the Chinese people and their sacrifices in the struggle for a better future hastened the day of their liberation.

p The victory of the people’s revolution, which in 1949 resulted in the establishment of the Chinese People’s Republic, was a matter of tremendous international significance. It meant that a country with the world’s largest population had taken the road of socialist development. Inspiring prospects of socio-economic and cultural progress opened up before the Chinese people. With the establishment of the new social system China was able to begin the planned and effective utilisation of her colossal labour and natural resources in her own interests.

p The territory of China may be likened to a giant triangle whose base faces the Pacific Ocean and the top ends at the Pamir Mountains. In the north and northwest China has common frontiers with three socialist states, the Korean People’s Democratic Republic, the Mongolian People’s Republic and the Soviet Union. In the south and southwest she borders on Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Burma and Laos and socialist Vietnam.

p In view of the fact that China lies at the Pacific Ocean in the moderate, subtropical and tropical zones and is predominantly a mountainous and hilly country, she has a diversity of natural and climatic conditions. Figuratively speaking the west of China is an ocean of mountains and deserts. But there are also 100 million hectares of virgin lands suitable for cultivation in that part of the country. The flat eastern areas have the densest population. Here, in the basin of the great Chinese rivers, lie her biggest tracts of the fertile land which yield two or three harvests a year.

p Though China’s mineral resources have been little explored as yet, her proven reserves of mineral raw materials and fuel are large enough on the whole. Her coal reserves are estimated at 1,500,000 million tons and iron ore at 13,000 91 million tons. Fairly large oil deposits were discovered in the first years following the establishment of people’s power. China’s reserves of tungsten, tin, antimony, molybdenum and other raw materials are among the world’s largest.

p In just under a decade, from 1949 to 1958, the government carried out important socio-economic reforms: the property of the wealthy compradore bourgeoisie and foreign imperialists was nationalised and the private capitalist sector in industry and trade was transformed into the state-capitalist sector. The agrarian reform abolished feudal-landowner exploitation and the bulk of the farmers were united in socialist co-operatives. All these measures were the beginning of the end of China’s age-old backwardness.

p The socio-economic reforms which had stimulated the multi-million Chinese nation to creative activity were accompanied by progress in economic development. Her wardevastated industry was rehabilitated on a new technical basis.

p Of decisive significance was the establishment of the foundations of a modern industry. Thousands of industrial projects were under construction throughout the country. The gross industrial product in 1960 was more than fifteen times greater than in 1949. China’s share in world industrial production rose from 2 to 5 per cent, and as regards the output of some types of commodities, the figure was even higher.

p The restoration and enlargement of the Anshang metallurgical plant and the construction of new factories in Wuhan and Paotow augmented the capacities of the iron and steel industry.

p Non-ferrous industry also advanced. Besides producing copper, tin, lead, zinc, magnesium and tungsten, China for the first time launched the production of aluminium.

p The fuel and power industry was enlarged and strengthened; the output of chemical fertiliser and cement rapidly increased and the foundations for the country’s war industry were laid.

p The geographic distribution of industry and the industrial pattern of the old Chinese cities were modified to a degree. Engineering works were built in Shanghai, China’s biggest city and port (about 10 million inhabitants), and an old centre of the textile industry. The metallurgical and engineering industry of the capital Peking (about 8 million 92 inhabitants) was enlarged. The existing industrial capacities^ in Shenyang in the northeast, Tientsin in the north, Nanking in the east and Kwangchow in the south were supplemented with new ones.

p Large iron and steel and heavy engineering plants were built in Wuhan. China’s first automobile factory was erected in Changchun and her first tractor factory in Liaoyang. Oil refineries and petrochemical plants went up in the vicinity of Lanchow. A new large town Paotow arose around a new metallurgical plant and the town of Karamai was built near the oilfields in Sinkiang.

p The output of rice, animal products and poultry-farming was gradually increasing.

p The first results of the economic upsurge made it possible to raise the living standard in the country. Food consumption increased in town and country and the daily ration included more meat, butter, sugar and pastry. Millions of adults learned to read and write and tens of millions of children were attending school. The network of higher and secondary specialised schools was expanded and the training of personnel for the economy was conducted on a mounting scale.

p The Soviet Union and other socialist countries rendered the Chinese People’s Republic massive assistance in creating her economy and culture.

p At China’s request thousands of Soviet specialists were sent to work at her construction projects and enterprises. They furnished all-round and effective assistance in developing the country’s socialist economy and culture and trained national personnel. More than 250 large enterprises, which became the cornerstone of new branches of industry, were built with the material and technical assistance of the Soviet Union.

p Beginning with 1958 fundamental changes took place in China’s domestic and foreign policy. At first, in 1958-60, the policy of the "great leap" was imposed on the country. And when nothing came of it the Chinese People’s Republic in 1961-65 adopted a policy of “regulating” the economy. Without carrying it through to the end, the Chinese leaders embarked on a "cultural revolution”. This departure from the Leninist principles of socialist construction caused enormous harm to the country’s economy.

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p The construction of many industrial projects was temporarily suspended, the available capacities were not used to the full and production links in industry were seriously violated. Agriculture entered a period of great difficulties.

p China’s economic, scientific, technical and cultural relations with the socialist countries were sharply curtailed.

The Soviet Union and other socialist countries are consistently pursuing a policy of restoring goodneighbourly relations and friendship with the Chinese people. The 24th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union emphasised that an improvement in relations between the Soviet Union and the Chinese People’s Republic would serve the fundamental, long-term interests of both countries, the interests of socialism, and would give further impetus to the anti-imperialist struggle.