China’s revival of its Mao-era “Third Front” strategy represents one of the most consequential shifts in contemporary geopolitics. Originally conceptualised by Mao Zedong in 1964, the Third Front aimed to relocate critical defence industries deep into China’s mountainous interior, particularly in provinces such as Sichuan, Gansu, and Ningxia, to shield them from external attack. Over 15 million people were mobilised to build secret factories in remote terrains, forming what w