Comments on the Report of the Party Group of the Ministry of Light Industry Concerning the Mass Development of Industry in People’s Communes (November 5, 1958) This document [1] is very good; light industry has found the right path.
It should be immediately circulated to all comrades present at the meeting [2]. Mao Zedong November 5, 1958 Printed from the manuscript.
Notes [1] Refers to the report submitted by the Party Group of the Ministry of Light Industry to Mao Zedong and the Central Committee on October 30, 1958, concerning the mass development of industry in people’s communes.
The report stated: (1) The current situation in light industry is tense.
On the one hand, localities, in order to concentrate their efforts on ensuring the “Steel Marshal Takes Command,” are demanding that light industry give way, resulting in work stoppages and partial shutdowns.
On the other hand, market supplies are extremely tight, with many daily necessities and foodstuffs already disappearing from shelves.
The only way to resolve this contradiction is to vigorously develop light industrial production. (2) Systematically summarizing and earnestly disseminating key technical innovations and inventions is the key to enhancing existing production capacity and also the quickest and most effective measure for increasing output at present. (3) Implementing the policy of simultaneously developing industry and agriculture and launching a large-scale industrial drive within the people’s communes is the fundamental direction for the development of light industry.
More than 80 percent of light industry’s raw materials come from rural areas, and its main markets are also in the countryside.
In the past, most light industrial plants were located in cities, requiring raw materials to be transported from the countryside to the city and finished products to be shipped back to the countryside—a round-trip process that wasted labor.
Establishing industries within the people’s communes not only further implements the Party-wide, mass-based policy of developing industry but also

facilitates the closer integration of industry and agriculture, creating conditions for gradually eliminating the differences between urban and rural areas and between workers and peasants.
The crucial issue at present is to boldly mobilize the masses, adapting measures to the economic and natural characteristics of each people’s commune, relying on local conditions and self-reliance; prioritizing small-scale enterprises while combining small and medium-sized ones; relying mainly on traditional methods while integrating them with modern techniques; and linking backbone enterprises with mass-run enterprises—both by building new factories and by upgrading existing ones, particularly handicraft workshops. (4) To achieve these objectives, it is essential to continue the struggle against conservative thinking. [2] Refers to the working conference then being held in Zhengzhou, attended by certain central leaders, heads of major administrative regions, and secretaries of some provincial and municipal party committees—the First Zhengzhou Conference.