Chapter 31 9.2 Re-host financial work

When re-hosting the financial work, it was proposed to make adjustments, grasp the problem of Baosteel dismounting and dismounting, and conduct in-depth investigations into "dissecting sparrows" to curb the momentum of rash advances. After the Third Plenary Session of the Central Committee, when the State Council discussed the annual national economic plan, it felt that there were many problems and it was difficult to determine them.Deng Xiaoping discussed with Li Xiannian, who was working in finance and economics at the time, and suggested that the State Council set up a finance and economics committee, and ask Chen Yun to be the director to take charge of the national finance and economics work.

Li Xiannian has been working as a leader in the financial department since the 1950s.He admired Chen Yun very much.He often said to people: "I have had two teachers in my life, one is Xu Shuai, who taught me to fight; the other is Chen Yun, who taught me to manage the economy." He agreed with Deng Xiaoping's opinion, and offered to say that he would be Chen Yun's assistant and deputy director. The Politburo Standing Committee meeting approved this proposal. On March 13, after discussing with Li Xiannian, Chen Yun drafted a joint letter to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the second day, and put forward several opinions on financial and economic work:

First, the pace of progress must be steady.No more tossing, repeated and large "saddle shapes" must be avoided. Second, in the long run, the fastest speed is when the national economy can achieve proportional development. Third, the current national economy is not comprehensively balanced.The disproportionate situation is quite serious. Fourth, it will take two to three years for an adjustment period before the imbalance in various aspects can be generally adjusted. Fifth, steel indicators must be reliable.The development direction of steel should not only focus on quantity, but also focus on quality.It is necessary to focus on adjusting the proportional relationship between the various steel products needed in our country.The speed of steel development should take into account the proportional relationship between the development of various industries, including agriculture, light industry, other heavy industries, transportation, culture and education, health care, urban housing construction, and environmental protection.Due to the long construction cycle of steel, it is necessary not only to formulate a 5-7 year plan, but also to formulate a plan until 2000.

Sixth, borrowing foreign debt must fully consider the ability to repay principal and interest, and consider domestic investment capabilities, so that it is basically carried out sequentially. According to the requirements of proportional economic development, this letter pointed out that the root cause of the unstable economic situation at that time was the imbalance of proportions, and proposed that it would take two or three years to carry out economic adjustment.In this way, in fact, the policy policy of the Finance and Economics Committee of the State Council was put forward. On March 21, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting.At the meeting, Chen Yun proposed more specifically that it would take two to three years, preferably three years, to adjust the national economy based on the opinions agreed upon by him and Li Xiannian.

After Chen Yun's speech, Deng Xiaoping made a speech, expressing full support for Chen Yun's opinions on economic work, saying that the task of the center is to adjust within three years.This is a big policy, a big policy.It can be said with certainty that this adjustment cannot be made without great determination.First of all, there must be determination. It is not enough to take care of the east and take care of the west. Only with great determination can we succeed.This three-year adjustment is very good.Deng Xiaoping also said that Chen Yun's proposal to produce 80 million tons of steel in 2000 made sense.In the past, it was mentioned that food was the key link and steel was the key link. It is time to sum up experience and lessons.If there is more steel, all problems will be solved?The industrial level of a country is not only determined by steel.There are more precision things, but less material is used.The level of the steel industry is not only determined by quantity, but also by quality, variety, and specifications.Press down the steel indicators and unload the burden, and you will have the strength to do other things.The quality of iron and steel must be focused on cutting-edge ones. If it is done well, 80 million tons of steel is not necessarily inferior to 200 million tons of steel. Steel with fewer varieties and specifications will have less effect.

On March 25, 1979, the Xinjiang Hall of the Great Hall of the People.Chen Yun took office and presided over the first meeting of the Financial and Economic Commission of the State Council. After a period of intensive planning and organization, clear policies, and establishment of institutions, Chen Yun once again led a large-scale and effective economic adjustment. In April 1979, the Central Work Conference put forward the policy of "adjustment, reform, rectification, and improvement" for the entire national economy. It is necessary to concentrate on the adjustment of the national economy in three to several years, and further lay a more solid foundation for the accelerated realization of modernization.

Entrusted by the central government, Chen Yun personally took care of the Baosteel issue. The huge scale of Baosteel's investment has a huge impact on the overall national economy.Moreover, many problems that were not fully considered at the beginning were exposed after the start of work.Roads and other infrastructure are seriously insufficient, and the construction of steel plants requires new supporting facilities; East China’s electricity and water shortages are inherently tight, and it is even more difficult to add a Baosteel; Shanghai’s geological conditions are also a problem, and it will cost a lot of money just to lay the foundation. It was piled up inch by inch with banknotes, and so on.There was a lot of discussion.

Obviously, the Baosteel issue is the key to whether the relationship adjustment can be truly implemented.Chen Yun's determination to deal with this issue himself reflects the importance he attaches to it. Chen Yun began to conduct a comprehensive investigation and research from the end of April to the beginning of May 1979.At that time, Baosteel Construction had already launched, but there were many discussions in the country, and it was in a situation of "riding a tiger". Baosteel Construction has signed contracts with foreign companies, and the Japanese side acted very quickly. According to the agreement, materials were prepared, production was organized, and a large number of imported equipment arrived in China continuously.Because of rumors that China is about to start a full-scale economic adjustment, foreign manufacturers are worried about affecting their own interests, and they have accelerated the acquisition of equipment from China. The goods have been delivered according to the agreement, and it is difficult for the Chinese side to refuse to accept or build.The contract has been made, and if the contract is not performed, the foreign businessman will have to claim compensation.Such a loss is quite large, and it also seriously affects China's international reputation and credibility, which is very detrimental to further opening up.

In China, since Baosteel broke ground in 1978, the construction project has been in full swing. The foundation piles of the main projects such as blast furnace, coke oven, converter and power station have been laid, and the on-site construction team has assembled 40,000 to 50,000 people.It's hard to stop all of a sudden. However, if Baosteel builds according to the original plan, the adjustment policy will fail. Imported equipment will occupy a large amount of foreign exchange, and corresponding domestic supporting equipment, materials, and funds are needed. According to the financial and material resources at the time, it was unworthy anyway.

Opinions were very different at the time.Some said that they should all be dismounted, some said that part of the horse could be dismounted, and some said that the loss of dismounting was too much to bear.Some said that the imported equipment should be put away first until the situation improves; some said that instead of keeping it in the warehouse, it is better to install it, even if it cannot be started.There are different opinions, and everyone has a reason.This decision is not easy to make. Chen Yun looked at some materials of Baosteel's launch, and compared Baosteel's construction plan with the situation of Anshan Iron and Steel Company, and came up with a preliminary idea: the first and second phases of Baosteel's construction can be properly spaced out.

Chen Yun believes that Ansteel started construction in 1901, and the Japanese did it for more than 40 years. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, it took more than 30 years to get 6 million tons; Experience, after all, there are still difficulties in some jobs. This is a big deal and cannot be vague. He was also worried that some problems would be too late to be dealt with in the rush to carry out the surprise attack, and if the accumulation was accumulated, it would be difficult to handle if the steel could not be produced after the completion of the project.Chen Yun is not superstitious about foreign equipment. He believes that there are problems with foreign equipment, so we should pay attention to it. For a period of time, the construction cycle issue was the main issue Chen Yun considered. On May 9, the State Planning Commission, the Economic Commission, the Construction Commission, the Ministry of Metallurgy and the People's Bank of China submitted a report to the Finance and Economics Committee of the State Council and the State Council on the construction of Baosteel, advocating that: the main equipment should be imported, and of course technology and patents should also be purchased, but in order to increase domestic self-made The capacity of the equipment has been improved, and 3 sets of rolling mills have been changed to cooperative manufacturing with foreign companies.The No. 2 blast furnace and No. 3 and No. 4 coke ovens have greatly increased the proportion of domestic sub-delivery.The original plan to build a blast furnace system by the end of 1981 and complete the completion by the end of 1983 should be adjusted or postponed. Don't act too hastily. On May 31, in order to obtain first-hand information, Chen Yun personally went to Shanghai to conduct investigation and research. On June 6, Chen Yun finished his investigation in Shanghai and returned to Beijing.From an overall consideration, he finally considered that according to the opinions of relevant departments, the equipment should be imported, and part of it should be handed over domestically.All technical data must be purchased. Within one and a half months, Chen Yun focused on Baosteel's construction policy, repeated three times, and finally made a final decision. On June 16, Chen Yun presided over a meeting of the Finance and Economics Committee in Zhongnanhai to discuss the Baosteel issue.At the meeting, he put forward 8 opinions based on the results of research and repeated thinking over a period of time. According to Chen Yun's opinion, Baosteel's first phase of the project will continue, the second phase of the project will be postponed, and the signed contracts for the second phase will be compensated according to the contract, and the imported equipment will be properly kept. After learning of Baosteel's adjustment, Yoshihiro Inayama expressed his understanding of the Chinese side's actions as the person in charge of the Japanese side actively promoting the Sino-Japanese cooperative construction of Baosteel.He believes: "Some people complain that China's policies are as ever-changing as the autumn climate. However, countries that cannot make adjustments are not good, because China has excellent leaders headed by Deng Xiaoping, and can make adjustments. Some developing countries The reason they have access to foreign exchange when they have a high amount of accumulated debt is that they adjust." Although Baosteel Construction experienced some twists and turns later, due to the early start and good foundation, the difficulties and disturbances were resolved one by one in the end.The first phase of Baosteel's project was completed and put into operation in September 1985, and all indicators reached or exceeded the design level one year later.The project quality is excellent and won the national gold medal.After the completion of the first phase of the project, huge benefits were generated, which provided funds for the second phase of the project.The engineering technology of Baosteel has reached the level of the late 1970s and early 1980s.The main equipment technology of the continuous casting, hot rolling and freezing rolling systems of the second phase project has reached the level of the middle and late 1980s.Some key technical and economic indicators of Baosteel, such as labor productivity, product quality, energy consumption, environmental protection, etc., are in the forefront in China, and are also at a relatively advanced level in the world.In addition, the technology and modern management methods introduced by Baosteel have been gradually promoted in the national metallurgical system after digestion and innovation.In addition, Baosteel construction has played a certain role in promoting the modernization of electromechanical, transportation, coal and other industries.Practice has proved that the decision to build Baosteel is correct, and the leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council over Baosteel's construction is strong. On May 18, 1986, at the age of eighty, Chen Yun personally inspected Baosteel. In addition to listening to the report of Baosteel's person in charge, he also inspected the steelmaking plant, raw material wharf, coking plant, ironmaking plant, and blooming mill. Tapping and tapping.He expressed his heartfelt pleasure at the relatively rapid establishment of a large-scale modern iron and steel enterprise in my country, and specially wrote an inscription: "Work hard, make strict demands, keep improving, and keep innovating." After the Baosteel issue was finalized, specific blueprints for adjustments were made to the 120 major projects identified in 1978, which overcame the problem of too many clues and nowhere to start, and laid a good foundation for the overall adjustment of the national economy. As Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "If there is any change in this adjustment, it is to get rid of the problems that still exist in our work that do not conform to the spirit of the Third Plenum, and that is to make up our minds to get rid of unrealistic assumptions and subjectivism." This is exactly what the line of the Third Plenary Session requires us to achieve.” Li Xiannian, entrusted by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, pointed out in his speech on the adjustment issue that one of the main tasks of this adjustment is to “resolutely and gradually basically adjust the seriously imbalanced proportional relationship in all aspects, so that the entire national economy can truly enter the track of planned, proportional and healthy development", and announced 12 principles and measures for adjusting the proportional relationship, including: Import some more grain every year to benefit farmers to recuperate, mobilize farmers' enthusiasm, adjust the relationship between industry and agriculture, and arrange the life of urban and rural people; reduce the original target of 60 million tons of steel production in 1985 to 40 million tons, and steel production will not only not be able to squeeze Light industry needs to make way for light industry, serve some services, and speed up energy at the same time.Raw material construction; according to the needs of national economic development and the possibility of energy and raw material supply, resolutely and orderly shut down and transfer a number of enterprises; resolutely shorten the front line of infrastructure construction, and reduce the more than 1,700 large and medium-sized projects under construction nationwide to 1,000 Each plan should be connected with each other without leaving any gaps, and the scale of introduction should be strictly controlled. Approved by the Financial and Economic Commission of the State Council.It can be seen from this that Chen Yun's opinions put forward at the Central Work Conference have been well reflected in these adjustment measures. These measures have also achieved good results after being implemented. In 1979, the country imported several million tons more grains, which reduced the national grain purchase base and reduced or exempted part of the agricultural tax. These measures were matched with a series of measures such as the implementation of agricultural policies and the increase in agricultural investment. In 1979, agricultural production increased by more than 20 billion jin, national stocks increased, and other agricultural and sideline products also showed a gratifying growth momentum. Cotton production increased by more than 1 million dan, and oil crops increased by more than 15 million tan, an increase of 15%. , Pork is open to supply in most cities across the country.An important step has also been taken in resolutely shortening the front line of capital construction. The construction of 348 large and medium-sized projects has been suspended or postponed, and the long-standing momentum of rapid expansion of infrastructure construction has begun to be curbed.Represented by the adjustment of the construction plan of Baoshan Iron and Steel Company, on the basis of investigation and research, the introduction work has been redeployed. Some projects have extended the construction period, and some projects have been postponed. The introduction work is gradually on the right track.After several years of hard work, the adjustment work was successfully completed, laying a solid foundation for promoting reform and opening up and accelerating the pace of socialist modernization.