Mahong

Ma Hong, a Biography

Ma Hong (May 18, 1920 – Oct. 28, 2007), born in Dingxian county, Shanxi Province, China, was a well known economist; and was chiefly responsible for the reintroduction of market economics to government theory. He also pioneered Policy Consultation and chaired a government think-tank.

In 1936, Ma Hong took part in Ximenghui, an organization of resistance against the Japanese. The following year, Ma Hong was involved in the organization of the General Trade Union of Tongpu Railroad, and in that same year, joined the Communist Party of China. In 1938, he went to YanAn, then the Communist Capitol, and won Chen Yun’s (Minister of Organization) favour; as a result he was admitted into the CPC’s Central School. After graduation in 1941, Ma Hong was assigned to be a researcher in the CPC’s Central Research Institute, laying the foundations of his later economic knowledge.

In 1948, Ma Hong was transferred the CPC’s Northeast Bureau to be the director of the Policy Research Office. Through investigation, Ma Hong wrote “The Structure and Policy of the Northeastern Economy,” and divided the it into five sectors. This method was long employed by the Chinese Government; and in 1952, Ma Hong was promoted to the post of General Secretary of the National Planning Committee of the Central Government.

In 1954, during the Gao-Rau Incident, Ma Hong was purged and demoted. He came to work in the National Economic Committee, and was involved in the drafting of the “70 Industrial Regulations,” which helped China recover from the "Great Leap Forward." After co-composing the regulations, Ma Hong wrote the the "Management of Chinese Manufacturing Enterprises," which became the compass of industrial management at that time.

In 1978, Ma Hong’s career rebounded, and he founded the Industrial Economic Institute, and became its director. In 1982, Ma Hong became the president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Deputy General Secretary of the State Consul of the People’s Republic of China. In 1984, by his suggestion, “the notion of a socialistic commercial economy was written into the CPC’s list of doctrines.” In 1985, Ma Hong founded the State Council Development Research Centre, the first of its kind. In 1987 Ma Hong warned the government of impending inflation, but the government chose to ignore his advise, to their detriment.

Ma Hong writings have been widely publicized, and in 2005 he won the Outstanding Economist Prize. On October 28, 2007, he died of Parkinson’s disease.