Declassified per Executive Order 13526, Section 3.3
NND Project Number: NND 63316. By: NWD Date: 2011
TOP SECRET – Sensitive
U.S. intelligence estimated that through 1963 DRV used about $334 million of aid ext ended by China, $324 million from the USSR, and about $106 from East Europe.
The Chinese Communists played a leading role in assistance for transportation , communication, and the irrigation system. Between 1957 and 1964 they built 14 rice mills, 28 sugar r efi neries, plus a number of consumer goods factories . A 1959 loan financed expansion in metallurgy, chemicals, and electric power. Chinese trainers, advisers, and technicians averaged 1500 t o 3000 per annum. Soviet aid was at first centered on heavy industry. Technicians -- about 150 to 300 persons yearly -- were concentrated in heavy manufacturing, mining and electric power. After 1960, Soviet assistance was also provided for telecommunications and agriculture.
The DRV's foreign trade tripled from 1955 to 1963, and although exports increased from 8% of total trade in 1955, to 37% in 1963, a deficit remained which had to be financed fr om aid -- from grants in 1955-1957, and from credit thereafter.
The pattern of trade was also Bloc oriented, as follows:
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF DRV TRADE
(1962 Data in Percentages ) 54/ JJnport s Exports Communist China, N. K ., Cuba Eastern Europe US SR J apan Other Non -C ommunist Total 100.0 23·2 23·5 33.8 11.1 8.4 100.0 Together China and USSR accounted for two-thirds of all trade. Total exports were 60% from agriculture, for estry, f i shing and handicrafts, 30% from minerals; 50% of imports were machines and allied equipment. Less than 15% of all trade was with non-communist nations, consisting mainly of manufactured goods and chemicals for DRV coal.
Again, 1959 and 1960 were banner years. Compared with 1955, total trade more than doubled by 1959, and nearly tripled by 1960 :
