Some opinions, to be discussed with Xiannian.

Some of the fifteen questions [3] should be incorporated into the speech.

There were also a small number of people in our ranks who failed to see the overall situation clearly and harbored certain doubts and misgivings about the adjusted targets [5] at that time. However, the facts very quickly provided an affirmative answer. The results of the implementation of the annual national economic plan and the state budget have shown that their doubts or opposition were entirely superfluous and erroneous.

**Comments and Revisions on the Draft Report on the State Final Accounts and the Draft State Budget**

--- Notes

[1] Refers to the fourth draft of the report on the 1959 state final accounts and the 1960 draft state budget, issued by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on March 16, 1960. On March 30, Vice Premier and Minister of Finance Li Xiannian delivered this report at the Second Session of the Second National People's Congress; it was published in *Renmin Ribao* on April 1, 1960.
[2] The text printed in Song typeface in the three sections of this piece was added or rewritten by Mao Zedong.
[3] Refers to the following 15 questions raised by Mao Zedong in mid-March 1960 at a meeting convened in Zhejiang with responsible persons from six provinces and one city in East China: 1. The question of the Four Modernizations. 2. The question of universalizing urban and rural public canteens. 3. The question of universalizing urban people's communes. 4. Five questions concerning rural people's communes. 5. The agricultural question. 6. The industrial question. 7. The question of small-scale earth railways and small-scale modern railways. 8. The question of universal support for agriculture by the industrial, communications, finance and trade, and culture and education systems. 9. The educational question. 10. The question of fulfilling the 40-article National Program for Agricultural Development ahead of schedule. 11. The question of eliminating the four pests. 12. The question of the Three Antis. 13. The question of cadre recusal. 14. The question of ensuring that foreign guests visiting must see both good and bad situations. 15. The question of increasing production and practicing economy, and comprehensive utilization.
[4] The general requirements for the 1960 state budget arrangements in the fourth draft of the report issued by the General Office of the Central Committee on March 16 were: "In 1960, we should further establish agriculture as the foundation, combine the priority development of heavy industry with the rapid development of agriculture, and correctly handle the relations among agriculture, light industry, and heavy industry; we should continue to implement the policy of taking steel as the key link in industry and grain as the key link in agriculture, with overall arrangements, and further strengthen the transportation, power, and extractive industries; actively accelerate the process of the technological revolution and the cultural revolution, so that the 1960 national economy can achieve a better leap forward and create conditions for an all-round leap forward in subsequent years. In this way, it will be possible for us to catch up with and surpass Britain in the output of major industrial products in less than ten years, and greatly advance the fulfillment of the tasks set forth in the 1956-1967 National Program for Agricultural Development." Based on Mao Zedong's comments, Li Xiannian made additions and revisions. In the report delivered on March 30, this passage was changed to: "For this purpose, in 1960 we should further establish agriculture as the foundation and industry as the leading factor, combine the priority development of heavy industry with the rapid development of agriculture, and correctly handle the relations among agriculture, light industry, and heavy industry; we should continue to implement the policy of taking steel as the key link in industry and grain as the key link in agriculture, with overall arrangements, and further strengthen the transportation, power, and extractive industries; we should mobilize the forces of the industrial, communications, commercial, and cultural and educational systems to vigorously support agricultural production without exception; we should actively accelerate the process of the technological revolution and the cultural revolution, vigorously promote mechanization, semi-mechanization, automation, and semi-automation in all trades and professions, and strive to raise labor productivity; we should implement the policy of simultaneous development of modern and indigenous methods, and simultaneous development of large, medium, and small enterprises; we should further consolidate and develop rural people's communes, actively establish urban people's communes, comprehensively organize the production and livelihood of the urban and rural people, and consolidate and develop public canteens; we should strictly practice increasing production and economy, mobilize the broad masses, oppose corruption, oppose waste, oppose bureaucratism, earnestly rectify the work style of cadres, raise the political level of cadres, and enhance the ideological consciousness of the broad masses. In this way, it will be possible for us to catch up with and surpass Britain in the output of major industrial products in less than ten years, and fulfill ahead of schedule the tasks set forth in the 1956-1967 National Program for Agricultural Development."
[5] Refers to certain adjustments to the 1959 national economic plan targets proposed by the State Council to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in August 1959. In 1960, Mao Zedong and Zhu De were together with the masses in Zhongnanhai.