Annotation on the Report on the Question [I]
(3 September 1955)

Shanghai Bureau, all provincial and municipal Party committees, Party committees of all autonomous regions:

The following is a report on the question of agricultural cooperation from the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee dated 17 August, which is hereby distributed to you for reference. The Central Committee considers the policy of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee to be correct.

Central Committee
3 September 1955

Zhou, Boda[1] (after reading, immediately send to Liu, Zhu, Chen, Deng[2] for reading;
Shang Kun[3] to dispatch by telegram.)

Mao Zedong
3 September

[I]
The report of the CPC Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee states:
From 20 July to 9 August 1955, the Provincial Party Committee convened a rural work conference, analysed the development situation of the province’s agricultural cooperation movement, and determined the plan and methods for developing agricultural cooperatives in the future. From the winter of 1955 to before spring ploughing in 1956, on the basis of conscientiously consolidating and improving existing cooperatives, actively create conditions to establish new cooperatives (an estimated 4,000 to 6,000) and expand existing ones, so that the proportion of peasant households joining cooperatives will increase from the current 37.23% to approximately 50%. Before spring ploughing in 1957, the proportion of peasant households joining cooperatives will reach approximately 70%. The scale of newly established cooperatives shall generally be 20 to 25 households, and the expansion of old cooperatives shall generally be appropriate at 1/5 to 1/3. In accordance with the above plan, different requirements are put forward for different areas: in areas where cooperation is basically achieved, generally no new cooperatives shall be established; efforts shall be concentrated on consolidating existing cooperatives, and elderly, weak, and disabled peasants shall be properly accommodated while appropriately expanding old cooperatives; in areas where the proportion of cooperatives is not large, existing cooperatives shall be consolidated on one hand, and active development shall proceed on the other according to conditions; in a small number of areas where development has been excessively rapid and problems are numerous, full efforts shall be devoted to consolidation, and generally development is not appropriate; in villages without cooperatives, leadership shall be strengthened, active trial establishment shall be carried out, and efforts shall be made to ensure that every village has a cooperative. In expanding and establishing cooperatives, conditions such as voluntariness, a mutual-aid team foundation, and a core of leadership must be upheld; thorough ideological education and in-depth individual contacts must be carried out; the policy of mutual benefit must be correctly implemented; on the basis of ideological maturity, peasants shall be inspired to voluntarily sign up to join cooperatives, after which organisations shall be established and productive activities shall be organised in a unified manner. The conference also stressed strengthening Party leadership and strengthening the Party’s ideological and organisational construction, planning to rectify the Party and build the Party in batches in conjunction with the rectification and establishment of cooperatives during this year’s post-hoeing period, autumn and winter, and next spring.

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[1] Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai. Boda, i.e., Chen Boda, then Deputy Director of the Rural Work Department of the CPC Central Committee.
[2] Liu refers to Liu Shaoqi. Zhu refers to Zhu De. Chen refers to Chen Yun, then Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council. Deng refers to Deng Xiaoping, then Secretary-General of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council.
[3] Shang Kun, i.e., Yang Shangkun, then Deputy Secretary-General of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the General Office of the Central Committee.