Makeeva S.B. Population and National Economy of Qinghai Province from the "Three-Line Construction" to the Beginning of the Implementation of the Western China Development Program (1966-1999). Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University Asian and African Studies. 2026. Vol. 18. No. 2. Pp. 317-328

Òåêñò ñòàòüè íà ñàéòå æóðíàëà URL: https://aasjournal.spbu.ru/article/view/26455 (äàòà îáðàùåíèÿ 03.11.2026)

Abstract

In the period from 1966, Qinghai Province was included in the projects of the «three-line construction», since 1978 a gradual transition to «market relations» was carried out, which affected the state of the national economy and demographic dynamics of this northwestern territory of China. The purpose of this article is to study the history of economic and demographic development of the northwestern province of Qinghai from 1966 to 1999 during the period of «three-line construction», «Cultural Revolution», the beginning of the implementation of the policy of «reform and opening up» and the transition to the implementation of the «Western development» strategy. The main sources of analysis are the archival provincial chronicles of the People's Government of Qinghai Province, statistical data and materials of the third (1982) and fourth (1990) All-China Population Censuses. This study distinguishes two stages of economic and demographic development of Qinghai Province: the first from 1966 to 1978 and the second from 1982 to 1999. and the second from 1978 to 1999. It was established that during the «three-line construction» Qinghai Province was involved in a rapid process of industrialization, strengthening the metallurgical, mechanical engineering, and electric power sectors of the provincial national economy. With the advent of market relations in Qinghai rural areas, large markets began to form, where surplus agricultural products were sold. Investment support for agricultural production in Qinghai made it possible to solve the problems of low yields and excessive dryness of arable land. Qinghai's industrial successes during the reform policy contributed to the construction and growth of new cities in the province, the outflow of population from rural to urban areas, the maintenance of positive birth rates, and the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of the province's residents.