A central resolution accelerates agricultural cooperation

A central resolution endorsed the development of agricultural production cooperatives, moving beyond temporary mutual-aid teams. Cooperative farming was promoted as a means to pool labor and tools,...

A State Council order established planned procurement and planned supply of grain. The policy helped feed cities, build reserves and supply expanding industry, but it also gave the state stronger...

The Constitution established the institutions of the new republic and recognized state, cooperative, individual and capitalist economic forms within a transition toward socialism. It gave legal form...

The currency reform replaced the early renminbi at a ratio of 10,000 old yuan to one new yuan. The change simplified accounting after the postwar inflationary period and supported national fiscal...

The legislature formally approved the 1953–1957 plan after implementation had already begun. It set targets for industrial construction and major infrastructure, with Soviet-supported projects and...

Mao’s speech considered the balance between heavy and light industry, coastal and inland investment, central and local authority, and state, collective and individual initiative. It acknowledged the...

The Congress declared that socialist transformation of ownership was largely complete and made the development of productive forces a central task. It recognized the tension between an advanced...

By year’s end, private industry and commerce had largely been reorganized into state-private or collective forms. The rapid transition expanded state influence over investment, employment and...

Mao’s speech on contradictions among the people invited criticism and debate, partly in response to concerns about bureaucratism and the relationship between party and society. Intellectuals,...

A People’s Daily editorial signaled the start of a campaign that labeled many critics as rightists. People were dismissed, demoted, sent to labor or silenced. The campaign narrowed the space for...