But I can see a similar "it-must-stay-the-same-itis" in their proclamations that the country must never deindustrialize.
There's some of that. There's an official push in China towards self-sufficiency, and eliminating reliance on imports. The US used to have such a policy during the Cold War.
The coal and steel fixation created the European Union, which was originally "the European Coal and Steel Community". Britain grew to be a world power through coal and steel. As those declined in importance, they were taken over by the Government, under what was derisively called "lemon socialism". There was British Steel, British Coal, British Rail... All the old labor-intensive plants.
China has problems with inefficient state-owned businesses, which tend to be jobs programs. They're mostly owned by provincial and municipal governments, not the national government. Lots of steel mills and coal mines, inevitably. But since they make steel for export, they can't be too inefficient.
There's some of that. There's an official push in China towards self-sufficiency, and eliminating reliance on imports. The US used to have such a policy during the Cold War.
The coal and steel fixation created the European Union, which was originally "the European Coal and Steel Community". Britain grew to be a world power through coal and steel. As those declined in importance, they were taken over by the Government, under what was derisively called "lemon socialism". There was British Steel, British Coal, British Rail... All the old labor-intensive plants.
China has problems with inefficient state-owned businesses, which tend to be jobs programs. They're mostly owned by provincial and municipal governments, not the national government. Lots of steel mills and coal mines, inevitably. But since they make steel for export, they can't be too inefficient.