Comrades of the entire staff of the Anshan Iron and Steel Company:

Your letter of 21 December 1953 has been received. The ahead-of-schedule completion of construction and commencement of production at the Anshan Seamless Steel Tube Plant, the Anshan Large-Scale Steel Rolling Mill, and the Anshan No. 7 Blast Furnace are monumental events in the development of our country’s heavy industry in 1953. I extend warm congratulations and profound gratitude to all the workers and staff participating in these three projects, to the entire staff of the Anshan Iron and Steel Company, and to all the Soviet comrades assisting in the construction of Anshan. The people of our country are now united as one, striving to realize our country’s socialist industrialization, and your heroic labour constitutes a major contribution to this objective. I hope you will continue your efforts, study the advanced experience of the Soviet Union, bring your wisdom and strength into play, and strive for even greater achievements.

Mao Zedong
24 December 1953