DIRECTIVE ON THE SETTING UP OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY MINISTRY

Directive No 10 of People's Committee of the Provisional Central Government

28 April 1933

[Text] To increase production in all trades in the soviet areas, to expand internal and external trade, to develop the national economy in the soviet areas and to smash the enemy's economic blockade, all of these are of the first significance amid the current acute development of the civil war. Accordingly the central executive committee has published its 19th order and has added a Ministry of National Economy to the central government and National Economy Departments at the provincial and county levels. Governments at all levels must reformulate their efforts at neglecting economic construction and must quickly launch the attack on the economic front. Since the imperialist KMT carried out its fourth encirclement campaign against the soviets and the Red Army, and at the same time carried out a cruel economic blockade, owing to the correct leadership of the Communist Party and the soviets and the active attack of the Red Army and the masses, we have already gained an extremely great victory, but governments at all levels must understand that war with the imperialist KMT is a protracted and bitter struggle, and even if we entirely smash the fourth encirclement campaign and win initial victories in one or several provinces, we shall still need to devote an immense amount of effort to it. Winning a victory in economic construction, so as to improve the livelihood of the worker-peasant masses, to whip up an even greater revolutionary fervor among the masses, and also to protect the needs of the Red Army in coordination with the entire war mobilization, all this has decisive significance for the victorious struggle. Based on the above principles, governments at all levels must grasp several central tasks of current economic construction, such as the development of industrial and agricultural production, grain redistribution, expansion of cooperatives, the setting up of an external trade office, and the development of state-owned enterprises, and make them an actuality. To carry on these activities, the people's committee has determined that the National Economy Departments at all levels will carry out a provisional organizational guiding line in which is specified the setting up of the most important organs of the National Economy Department, the planning office and the investigation and

statistical office. In addition, it is specified that before the various special administrative organs--agricultural department, industrial department--communications department, internal and external trade department--have been set up, their functions shall be performed wholly or in part by the Department of National Economy. When the governments at all levels receive this directive and guideline, they must immediately set up the various organs as specified. Some functions that were performed formerly under the control of the finance department, such as the office of grain redistribution, the cooperatives, the external trade office, etc., shall be relegated to the control of the Department of National Economy. The State Printing Plant which formerly was under the control of the Department of Education is also provisionally relegated to the Department of National Economy. The Labor Reform Institutions, which were formerly under the control of the Department of Justice and the provincial and county judicial departments, shall now have shelter, manufacture and construction sections relegated to the control of the Department of National Economy. But the Communications Administration under the control of the Ministry of Interior shall only have its Transport Department relegated to the Department of National Economy, while its post, telegraphic and highway functions shall remain unchanged under its control. The former provincial and county food departments shall be absorbed into the food section of the office of national economy. Within the Department of National Economy at the various levels, people's economy committees shall be set up as planning and reconstruction organs. The setting up of the organs of the national economy department at the provincial and county levels, and the duties of the personnel must quickly be reported to the central ministry of national economy.

As to the regional authorities' programs for concrete leadership, these must be drawn up by an early date, and it is expected that the Ministry of National Economy will examine and approve them for execution. It is so ordered.

Chairman Mao Tse-tung
Vice-Chairmen Hsiang Ying, Chang Kuo-tao

28 April 1933
"Red China," No 77, 8 May 1933