Comments on the Draft Report by Zhou Enlai on the Proposal for the Second Five-Year Plan for the Development of the National Economy  (September 13, 1956)  I  To Premier Zhou:  I have read it once; it is very good.
I have made a few minor revisions.
Please consider them as you see fit.
Mao Zedong  9:30 a.m., September 13  II  Premier Zhou:  Your entire report [1] is excellent.
However, I feel that the first part (a summary of the experience of the First Five-Year Plan period) is not very clear or smooth; it is not as well written as the subsequent sections.
It seems to have been drafted by two different hands.
If, within the next day or two, you could ask a comrade with fluent writing skills to revise it—since Qiaomu [2] does not have time—that would be even better.
If this is not possible, then let it stand.
Mao Zedong  11:00 a.m., September 13  Printed from the manuscript.  1£

III  It would be advisable to add a sentence or two here acknowledging the contributions of Soviet and foreign experts in assisting our country. [3]  Printed from Mao Zedong’s manuscript.
Notes  [1] Refers to Zhou Enlai’s draft report, “Report on the Proposal for the Second Five-Year Plan for the Development of the National Economy,” which he intended to deliver at the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China.  [2] Qiaomu refers to Hu Qiaomu, who at that time served as Deputy Secretary-General of the CPC Central Committee and as Mao Zedong’s secretary.  [3] The revised draft of the “Report on the Proposal for the Second Five-Year Plan for the Development of the National Economy” states: “Whether during the period of restoring the national economy or during the implementation of the First Five-Year Plan for the development of the national economy, our country received vast and friendly assistance from the great Soviet Union in all respects, as well as assistance from other fraternal countries.
This assistance helped us overcome many difficulties and enabled our socialist construction to advance at a relatively high rate.”
Mao Zedong’s comment was written beside this passage.