Reconstruction Of Trade And Commerce:Nanjing,1949-1957

This article adopts a "middle view" perspective,focusing on the transformation of urban and rural commerce in Nanjing after 1949,and attempts to examine the details and driving factors of the socio-economic transformation in the early days of New China.Before 1949,business accounted for a large proportion of Nanjing’s economic structure,while industry accounted for a small proportion.After the establishment of the new regime,the overall goal of "converting Nanjing from consumption to production" was put forward.Under the guidance of this basic policy,the new regime gradually reconstructed the structure and shape of urban and rural commerce in Nanjing.First,the new regime gradually established a new economic order through measures such as combating speculation and stabilizing financial prices.At the same time,with the changes in the internal and external environment,Nanjing’s consumer commerce declined rapidly.The new regime took advantage of the situation and launched a preliminary transformation of urban and rural commerce.The drastic changes caused private commerce to be in a difficult situation.After the adjustment of commercial policies,the new regime launches massive trade between urban and rural,and private business was restored.Since the beginning of the Korean War,due to the increase in processing orders,private commerce has developed rapidly.After the “three antis” and “five antis” movement,this process was quickly interrupted.Compared with private industry,private commerce has been hit harder,and businessmen have lost their political and economic status.After the start of socialist transformation,firstly,private wholesalers were eliminated,and secondly,due to the changes of the market,starting from the state monopoly for purchase and marketing,private retailers are gradually being transformed.Since the Joint State-Private Ownership of Enterprises of a Whole Trade began in 1956,Nanjing’s social commerce has moved towards full public ownership.However,the excessively rapid transformation disrupted the operation of the commercial system and caused tremendous pressure on the urban and rural economy,so it had to return to the market mechanism again.This article focuses on the newspapers and archives in Nanjing,combining with other relevant literature,while paying attention to the formulation of national policies,it also examines the implementation of policies by the new regime in Nanjing.Through this,this article shows the complexity of local socio-economic changes.In addition to the transformation of private business,the development of public commerce and its important impact on local socio-economic changes has also be noticed.On this basis,this article reviews some academic opinions on the political and economic changes in the early period of New China,and proposes that political considerations are the main factors driving local economic change.The full text is divided into three parts,introduction,main text and conclusion.There are eight chapters in the text.The first chapter mainly discusses the process of establishing a new socio-economic order in Nanjing after the CCP occupied Nanjing.It focuses on the formation of the economic policy of the CCP taking over large cities and its implementation in Nanjing.The second chapter mainly discusses the preliminary transformation of the Nanjing social commerce by the new regime.It focuses on the specific conditions of social commerce in Nanjing.The new regime specifically implements the transformation of private commerce,the exchange of urban and rural materials,and the transformation of industry-commerce relations.The third chapter mainly discusses the background,plan and actual situation of the first commercial adjustment policy in Nanjing.The fourth chapter mainly discusses the handling of social and commercial issues by the new regime in Nanjing in the face of wartime conditions after the beginning of the Korean War.The fifth chapter mainly discusses the "three antis" and "five antis" movements in Nanjing and their huge impact on social and commercial reform.Chapter 6 mainly examines the results and problems of the implementation of the economic accounting system and the establishment of a planned economic system by local state-owned businesses in Nanjing.Chapter7 mainly discusses the transformation process of Nanjing’s new regime to private wholesalers and private retailers after entering the stage of socialist transformation,as well as the process and a series of effects of the state monopoly for purchase and marketing.The eighth chapter mainly examines the trilateral interaction between the central government,the new regime in Nanjing,and Nanjing’s private and small business vendors and their results after the entire industry’s public-private partnership.