To Comrade Xiaoping [1], with copies to Comrades Shoushi, Zihui, Zhongxun, Yibo, and Gao Gang [2]: Your comprehensive report of January 8 [3] has been received and read with satisfaction.

The policy is correct, and the achievements are considerable, which is very gratifying.

Your first conference on urban work was successful and highly commendable.

If feasible, before May 1 of this year, please convene another conference on urban work to conduct an in-depth study of urban affairs—primarily trade union work, the direction of leadership over industry and commerce, and issues concerning urban state power—and to reach certain decisions, thereby preparing materials for the Fourth Plenary Session’s discussion of trade union work.

The Fourth Plenary Session is scheduled to be held in May. Please arrange your work accordingly.

Mao Zedong, January 22nd.  To Comrades Shoushi, Zihui, Jianying [4], Zhongxun, Yibo, and Gao Gang: I am forwarding to you Comrade Deng Xiaoping’s report of January 8, from which one can gain an overview of the work in the Southwest. It mentions that a conference on urban work has already been held there, at which the relatively widespread tendency within the Party to look down upon workers was sharply criticized. The report clearly states that reliance on the working class should become the guiding principle of the Party and be implemented in all aspects of its work and in every department.

At present, the East China, Central-South, and Northwest regions are in the midst of a peak period of land reform and the suppression of counter-revolutionaries. Many comrades are naturally very busy; nevertheless, I urge you to make time, before May 1, to convene a conference on urban work to focus on studying and resolving issues related to reliance on the working class, factory management, and trade union activities, so as to prepare opinions for the Fourth Plenary Session’s deliberations on these matters.

The Fourth Plenary Session is planned to be held in May. Please organize your work in accordance with this timetable.

Mao Zedong, January 24th. Printed from the manuscript.  To all Central Bureaus, with copies forwarded to their respective sub-bureaus, municipal committees, provincial committees, and regional party committees: Spring plowing is imminent. Land-reform work should be brought to a close within a short period, and efforts should be concentrated on leading the peasantry fully into spring cultivation to secure a bumper harvest this year. This is of paramount importance.

During the spring-plowing season, all Central Bureaus, sub-bureaus, municipal committees, provincial committees, and regional party committees, in addition to directing spring plowing, summarizing experiences from land reform, training cadres engaged in land reform, clearing up backlogged cases from the campaign to suppress counter-revolutionaries, and drawing lessons from that campaign, should set aside time to convene a conference on urban work. At this conference, they should review and summarize the experience gained in urban work throughout 1950, examining and synthesizing several major issues, such as (1) the question of relying on workers; (2) factory management; (3) trade union work; (4) the building of local people’s governments in cities; (5) party-building in urban areas; (6) the campaign to purge counter-revolutionaries in cities; and (7) the united-front work in urban settings. The aim is to strengthen leadership over urban work among subordinate organizations and to prepare opinions for the Fourth Plenary Session, which will meet in May.

Naturally, all these issues cannot be fully discussed at a single meeting; they should be addressed in separate thematic sessions, with municipal committees in particular taking the lead in organizing such specialized discussions. Attached is a report from the Chengdu Municipal Committee, provided for your reference.

Central Committee, February 7th. Printed from Mao Zedong’s manuscript.  Notes [1] Xiaoping refers to Deng Xiaoping, who at that time served as First Secretary of the CPC Southwest Bureau.  [2] Shoushi refers to Rao Shoushi, First Secretary of the CPC East China Bureau; Zihui refers to Deng Zihui, Third Secretary of the CPC Central-South Bureau; Zhongxun refers to Xi Zhongxun, First Secretary of the CPC Northwest Bureau; Yibo refers to Bo Yibo, First Secretary of the CPC North China Bureau; and Gao Gang was then Secretary of the CPC Northeast Bureau.  [3] Refers to Deng Xiaoping’s report dated January 8, 1951, to Mao Zedong and the Central Committee, detailing the work of the CPC Southwest Bureau during November and December 1950. The report focuses on the progress of the rural rent-and-deposit-reduction movement and on the proceedings of the first conference on urban work. It notes that a special conference on urban affairs had been convened, the main outcome of which was the decision to henceforth intensify research into and guidance for urban work. During the meeting, the relatively widespread attitude within the Party of looking down upon workers was strongly criticized, and it was made clear that reliance on the working class must become the Party’s guiding principle and be implemented in all lines of work and in every department.  [4] Jianying refers to Ye Jianying, First Secretary of the CPC South China Sub-Bureau.