On the Current Policy and Plan of Action[1]

(January 17, 1936)

Our basic tasks this year are to consolidate and expand the Soviet area, establish contact with the Soviet Union, link the civil war with the national war, and expand the anti-Japanese forces and the main force of the Red Army. From February to July, our operations will be in Shanxi; the turning point for moving from Shanxi to Suiyuan will depend on the extent of Japan’s attacks on Shanxi and Suiyuan and on the level of our own strength. To the south, to the west, and to the northwest, it is hard to make a case for action. The basic military policy for the eastward advance is the policy of advancing steadily and striking solid blows, relying on the Soviet area to establish base areas and striving to gain freedom of movement back and forth across the Yellow River. We must expand our own strength in northern Shaanxi so that it can shoulder the task of defending northern Shaanxi. The development of Shanxi will be of tremendous help to northern Shaanxi; we are determined to go to Shanxi. The Political Bureau will move with the army, and a Central Bureau will be organized in northern Shaanxi.

[1] On January 17, 1936, Mao Zedong attended the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China convened at Wayaobao and delivered a report on the current policy and plan of action. This is a part of that report.