Behind Deng's Us Trip

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As Deng Xiaoping (Teng Hsiao-ping) and President Carter smile' and wave at crowds throughout the US, the thoughts buzzing through their heads are more interesting than their statements couched in diplomatic language.

Carter: "Just think of the untapped market of nearly one billion people waiting for American technology and military hardware.

If we can open a floodgate of exports to China that will ease our economic problems and the trouble here with our oWn workers".

Deng: "Already I need $200 million in handouts to complete the objectives of the 10 year plan up to 1985.

I need to get foreign investment to modernise industry, keep the masses happy with some incentives so they keep off my back and also deal with the Soviet Únion"

What has been said so far by Deng is to criticise the SALT agreements and to call for a US-China-Japan alliance to develop trade and military defence.

Worried man

Deng is indeed a worried man. In a 'sounding' done in Peking by the Hong Kong left wing journal Tong Xiang, asking the views of people in a commune, a military unit and a hospital. 76% said that constitutional rights are not respected in China, and 88% were dissatisfied with cultural life.

This discontent has been only too evident over the last weeks.

The sight of poor peasants, apparently in ragged clothes, demonstrating outside the Great Hall of the People while a fabulous New Year celebration was taking place inside highlights the corruption of the bureaucracy.

Several hundred peasants demonstrated against "hunger and oppression"

Complaints*

Some of these were people who have spent months in Peking waiting for their complaints to be dealt with and meanwhile living on their wits.

Several new wall posters appeared as well, some of which reproduced the French Declaration of 1789 and the American Declaration of Independence.

Far from the poor peasants being given any. attention, the bureaucracy is at the moment feting the remnants of the capitalist class.

Rehabilitation of those once called "landlords, rich peasants and counter-revolutionaries, and bad elements" is to include the bitterest enemies of the revolution in 1949.

Particularly favoured are the hundreds of businessmen dispossessed during the Cultural Revolution.

All these are to be im bursed for all losses.

Even the families of those who have died in the meantime are to get their money.

The hope is that:

"the patriotic industrial. ists and businessmen will contribute particularly to the development of tourism, of services, of exporting and of mixed enterprises."

These will be set up with the help of foreign capital.

The hope, is also to encourage the return of overseas Chinese to invest their foreign currency and to run such industries as tourism.

China is desperately short of foreign currency and of any surplus from native industry and agriculture.

In order to pay for the large amount of things being ordered now this problem will have to be solved.

However, as the West Germans have just discovered in finalising_a five year deal with the People's Republic, they intend giving raw materials, not money, in exchange.

Teng has also tried to consolidate his weak position by removing 22 of 29 regional secretaries since Mao's death.

These desperate manoeuvres by the Peking bureaucracy in the face of the demands of the working class and poor peasantiy show yet again the instability of Stalinism and its fear of the development of political revolution that might sweep aside the parasitic leaders, their power and their privilege once and for all, and set a course towards internationalism and workers management of the planned, socialist economy. crowd