I want to make this sentence more concise:
Chairman Mao attempted to jumpstart China's agriculture and industry.
Could one replace "attempted to jumpstart" with a single word?
I want to make this sentence more concise:
Chairman Mao attempted to jumpstart China's agriculture and industry.
Could one replace "attempted to jumpstart" with a single word?
The closest word I can think of is jolt, which replaces only the word jumpstart, not the part which reads attempted to. My answer therefore is similar to @shinyspoongod's. I don't believe there is a word that can replace the whole phrase successfully.
I believe your initial sentence communicates the message effectively. You don't need to change anything.
You could try the word "spur". It seems difficult to find the right connotation among synonyms, since most have the voice of assumed success, as opposed to the desired meaning that an attempt was made, without any inference involving the outcome. This is the best I could find.
The only word I can think of which would mean the same as 'jumpstart' and also imply a sense that it had perhaps not already happened would be 'stimulate'.
The sentence would be: "Chairman Mao stimulated China's agriculture and industry.