Outline on Several Issues Concerning Grain Procurement, State-Controlled Sales, and Management [I]
(October 12, 1953)

Items:
706 billion jin; size of coverage; one-time or multiple installments; procurement price; standard = control, evaluation; transportation; separation of procurement and purchase; procurement-exempt areas; directives; material supply; public bonds; propagate the general line; minimize disruptions; advance purchase next year; production as the center; time arrangement; rationed sales; temporarily not publish in newspapers; unified management; cadres going to the countryside and backward townships.

Unified Management:
(1) The central government announces the control figures, and each greater administrative region ensures fulfillment, takes charge of management, and organizes supply;
[Note: This outline was drafted by Mao Zedong. Part I is written on the first page of Deng Zihui’s October 10, 1953 briefing on conveying the central grain policy in the Central-South region. Part II is written on the back of the last page of the briefing. Preliminary analysis suggests that the seven points in Part II on unified management elaborate on the issue of "unified management" listed in Part I.]

(2) Grain required by each region is submitted to the greater administrative region, with distribution and control between regions and provinces; the Northeast manages a portion of its own;
(3) Except for the above, all grain is under the central government’s control, including exports, supply, reserves, provisions for major famines, and flexible reserves;
(4) When localities face difficulties they cannot overcome on their own, the central government shall provide assistance;
(5) When the central government deems it necessary and feasible to transfer grain, after careful consideration and decision, localities shall comply with the transfer; minor local difficulties shall be subordinated to major national difficulties;
(6) Grain prices shall be uniformly set by the central government, with pricing principles for central points and below;
(7) Supply standards should be broadly consistent nationwide, and localities may submit opinions.