Letter to All Workers and Staff of the Steelmaking Plant of the Anshan Iron and Steel Company

(December 14, 1952)

Comrades of the entire workforce at the Steelmaking Plant of the Anshan Iron and Steel Company:

I was very pleased to read your letter dated December 2 [1]. I congratulate you on your latest achievements in open-hearth steel production [2]. With high labor enthusiasm and a creative spirit, and with the help of Soviet experts, you have set new records in steelmaking time and the utilization coefficient of hearth area, surpassing the levels of capitalist countries. This is not only an honor for you but also a major event on the path of our country’s industrialization. I hope you will continue your efforts and strive to accomplish the new task of producing high-quality steel for the year 1953.

Mao Zedong
December 14, 1952

[1] The letter reported the glad tidings that on November 22, 1952, with the help of Soviet experts, the Steelmaking Plant of the Anshan Iron and Steel Company set a new national record for open-hearth steelmaking by producing one heat of steel in 6 hours and 9 minutes.
[2] This refers to the new records set in production technical indicators such as steelmaking time and the utilization coefficient of hearth area when No. 4 open-hearth furnace produced one heat of steel, achieved a day or two before the Steelmaking Plant of the Anshan Iron and Steel Company wrote to Mao Zedong to report the good news.