Comments on the Report by the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Chemical Industry Concerning the Efforts to Reverse the Passive Situation in the Development of the Chemical Industry (November 19, 1958)  To Comrade Peng Tao [1]: This document [2] is very well written. On page [3], there is one unclear passage; on another page, it is necessary to shift the emphasis and provide some examples [4]. Please handle as you see fit. Mao Zedong Date: Year Month Day Printed from the manuscript.  Secondly, figures should be given for all existing quantities, so that readers do not have to calculate them one by one. [ ] Thirdly, [ ] printed from Mao Zedong’s manuscript. Many vague terms throughout the text should be revised.

Notes [1] Peng Tao was then Minister of the Ministry of Chemical Industry. [2] Refers to the report dated November 10, 1958, submitted by the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Chemical Industry to Mao Zedong and the Central Committee, urging a resolute reversal of the passive situation in the development of the chemical industry. The main contents are as follows: (1) The most pressing task facing the chemical industry at present is to vigorously develop basic chemical industries—such as ammonium nitrate, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, soda ash, and caustic soda—as well as important chemical raw materials—including calcium carbide, insulating materials, and synthetic rubber—in order to meet the urgent needs arising from the rapid development of metallurgy, machinery, electric power, coal, petroleum, construction, transportation, national defense, and cutting-edge science. (2) We must follow the path of self-reliance. At present, the chemical industry suffers both from a lack of electricity and raw materials, resulting in poor fulfillment of production plans, and from being placed low on the priority list for new construction projects. The only way to turn this passive situation around is to summon great enthusiasm, rely on self-reliance, launch extensive “small-scale, local” initiatives, carry out a technological revolution, and engage in self-help steel and iron smelting and equipment manufacturing to make up for deficiencies. (3) We need to learn to walk on two legs. While vigorously promoting these “small-scale, local” efforts in the chemical industry, we must also earnestly launch large-scale mass movements in all production enterprises to liberate thinking, encourage boldness and initiative, tap the potential inherent in existing production methods, conserve power, materials, equipment, and investment, and thereby accelerate the development of the chemical industry. (4) We should develop comprehensive integrated enterprises, with particular emphasis on establishing mechanical industries. With firm resolve, we should undertake self-help steel and iron smelting this winter and next spring to expand equipment-manufacturing capacity. At the same time, we hope that other industrial sectors and the transportation sector will also engage in some chemical production to secure the chemical raw materials they themselves require. (5) We must catch up swiftly and develop advanced chemical technologies to support the overall advancement of cutting-edge science and technology. Cutting-edge science and technology demand products from the chemical industry that meet extremely stringent quality standards, most of which have never been produced domestically, requiring us to find solutions through our own explorations. Attached to the report of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Chemical Industry was also a document titled “The Serious Backwardness of Current Chemical Production and Several Proposed Measures.” [3] This refers to a passage on page nine of the report by the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Chemical Industry: “It is hoped that the party committees of provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions will arm the chemical departments, either by providing them with machine tools or by assigning them certain mechanical factories as a foundation, so that they may gradually grow stronger this winter and next spring, bringing the chemical equipment-manufacturing capacity of each province, municipality, and autonomous region to 20,000 tons in 1959.” Mao Zedong wrote beside this passage: “Is this the total amount, or is each province expected to achieve this level?” [4] “We hope” here refers to another passage on page nine of the report: “Other industrial sectors and the transportation sector should also engage in some chemical production, which would not only support the chemical industry but also greatly benefit them in securing the chemical raw materials they need.” Mao Zedong drew a vertical line next to this passage and added a comment: “Some specific examples could be cited, emphasizing that such measures are mutually beneficial and indispensable. If the aim is merely to support the chemical sector, given how busy those sectors already are, who would be willing to offer support?” [ ] This comment by Mao Zedong was directed at a passage in the document appended to the report of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Chemical Industry, entitled “The Serious Backwardness of Current Chemical Production and Several Proposed Measures.” In that passage, after noting that existing chemical production capacity can supply only one quarter of the 1959 demand for chemical products, with newly commissioned enterprises providing another quarter, leaving the remaining half still unmet, the text lists the percentages of current output relative to required supply and the corresponding shortages for soda ash, caustic soda, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, ammonium nitrate, calcium carbide, and borax. [ ] Mao Zedong wrote this comment on page four of the aforementioned document appended to the report of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Chemical Industry. In this document, he made several revisions to certain formulations and terminology—for example, changing “next year” to “1959,” “this winter and next spring” to “the winter of 1958 and the spring of 1959,” and revising the sentence “Might Liaoning and Jilin provinces, together with the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region, consider establishing specialized mining agencies for boron?” to read “It is suggested that Liaoning and Jilin provinces, together with the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region, promptly establish specialized mining agencies for boron”—and then added this comment.