Central Committee’s Comment Transmitting the Henan Provincial Party Committee’s Report on the Question of Agricultural Cooperation (September 4, 1955)

I
To the Shanghai Bureau, all provincial and municipal Party committees, and the Party committees of all autonomous regions:
The Henan Provincial Party Committee’s report of August 28 on the question of agricultural cooperation [1] is hereby transmitted to you for reference. The Central Committee holds that the Henan Provincial Party Committee’s policy is correct.

Central Committee
September 4, 1955
(Printed from Comrade Mao Zedong’s manuscript.)

II
After Zhou and Boda [2] have read it, immediately send it to Liu, Zhu, Chen, and Deng [3] for reading. Shangkun [4] is to send it by telegram immediately and print additional copies as previously instructed.

·· Mao Zedong
September 4
(Printed from the manuscript.)

Notes
[1] The Henan Provincial Party Committee of the CPC stated in its report that the provincial Party committee held an enlarged meeting from August 16 to 22, 1955, to convey and discuss Chairman Mao’s directive “On the Question of Agricultural Cooperation.” In connection with the guiding ideology of the provincial Party committee and issues in practical work, criticism and self-criticism were carried out, further clarifying the guiding ideology for the cooperative movement and the policy of comprehensive planning and strengthened leadership for the cooperatives. The meeting adopted targets for the development of agricultural cooperatives throughout the province: to develop to 100,000 cooperatives by this winter and next spring, bringing the number of peasant households in cooperatives to 30 percent of the total peasant households; and to develop to 180,000 cooperatives by the end of 1957, bringing the number of peasant households in cooperatives to over 60 percent of the total peasant households. The meeting also stressed the importance of consolidating existing agricultural cooperatives at present and arranged for a second consolidation in September and October of this year and a third consolidation in the spring and summer of next year.
[2] Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai. Boda refers to Chen Boda, then deputy director of the Rural Work Department of the CPC Central Committee.
[3] 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.
[4] Shangkun refers to Yang Shangkun, then deputy secretary-general of the CPC Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee.