Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

"Another approach is that we don't need to use foreign exchange to buy the iron ore they have. We can buy it directly with RMB. However, when purchasing iron ore in this way, we must not only first meet their steel needs, but also provide them with the steel they need at a preferential price."

British businessmen really made all the preparations.

The British merchants' goal was to ensure their steel demand so their factories could accelerate production. As for foreign exchange, if their factories could accelerate production, they could earn back the foreign exchange through exports. This would also allow them to more closely tie into the Chinese economy and gain more profits in other areas.

This is because British businessmen have seen the various opportunities in China's economic development. Moreover, British businessmen are very smart and every time they provide advice to the Chinese government, it is very feasible.

"Comrade Li Fuchun, what do you mean?"

"I think it's definitely worth a try. We're also worried that if we agree to the British proposal and ask them to help us import iron ore, we'll likely be controlled by others in the development of our steel industry. So we can limit the scale of this. For example, we can stipulate that the amount of iron ore imported by the British must account for a certain percentage of the country's annual iron ore demand."

Li Fuchun is the central leader with overall responsibility for China's heavy industry.

Therefore, we are well aware of the many problems facing the current steel industry, especially the current situation of iron ore in China, which is indeed of poor quality.

Currently, China imports iron ore mainly from North Korea and Vietnam, and the quality of the iron ore imported from North Korea and Vietnam is very good.

North Korean iron ore is mainly used in steel mills in Northeast China, while Vietnamese iron ore is used in steel mills in Guangxi and Yunnan. Currently, Guangzhou Steel Mill is using iron ore imported from British companies, which is not unacceptable.

Of course, Li Fuchun also feared that if Chinese steel mills became dependent on imported iron ore, they would be at risk of being strangled. Perhaps China's steel industry would eventually depend on the British for its own interests.

Therefore, Li Fuchun suggested limiting the scale of production. Currently, only the Guangzhou Steel Plant uses iron ore imported from British companies.

"Comrade Li Fuchun, have you calculated the cost of imported iron ore and its impact on other aspects of the steel mill?"

Wei Hongjun put down his pen and asked. "Yes."

Li Fuchun said: "We calculated the international iron ore price and the grade of imported iron ore and found that the cost of imported iron ore for steelmaking at Guangzhou Iron and Steel Plant is actually lower than the current cost of steelmaking at Guangzhou Iron and Steel Plant. From an economic perspective, there is no problem for Guangzhou Iron and Steel Plant to import iron ore. It just costs a lot of foreign exchange.

That’s a huge problem.”

"That's no problem."

Wei Hongjun said directly: "The British businessmen gave us suggestions, and they also did so for their own economic interests.

But we can also think about it from another perspective.”

"British merchants can import iron ore, but can French merchants do the same? Can our trading companies in Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia do the same? British merchants have the greatest advantage, but we can cast a wider net to avoid a complete monopoly on iron ore import channels. The Guangzhou Steel Plant can develop with imported iron ore, and so can the Nanjing Steel Plant. This is because the cost of sea transportation is much lower than land transportation."

"Of course, we must continue to develop our domestic steel industry with our own iron ore. Projects like the Panzhihua Steel Base must continue to be launched. However, we can also separate some steel mills and pursue different development paths. This way, if problems arise in one path, it will not affect the overall development of the steel industry."

British merchants can take the lion's share of imported iron ore.

But how could a country like China rely solely on British merchants for iron ore imports? China has its own Minmetals Import & Export Corporation, and it could also liaise with French merchants and other trading companies abroad to help them open up iron ore import channels. This would allow China to independently control the scale of its iron ore imports and its iron ore import partners. Of course, at this stage, China still has to rely heavily on British merchants; there's no other way. Especially when foreign exchange is scarce, China can choose to use less or no foreign exchange to import iron ore. If British merchants want to obtain steel at a lower price, that's entirely negotiable.

"Yes, I agree with Comrade Wei Hongjun. Japan doesn't have much iron ore in its own country, so it relies on imported iron ore to develop its steel industry on a large scale.

In addition to developing a steel industry based on our own iron ore, we can also allocate a portion of our resources to developing a steel industry using imported iron ore. This two-pronged approach aims to alleviate the domestic steel shortage."

Deng Xixian supported Wei Hongjun's opinion.

With the rapid development of domestic industry, there is a serious shortage of steel in the market. No matter what method is used, increasing steel production as soon as possible is the top priority.

Many industries and aspects in China now have sufficient foundations. They are all ready to go.

Many industries only need an adequate supply of steel.

Therefore, increasing steel production by all means is a huge boost to the country's industrial development.

"Actually, this can be considered an alternative processing industry, just not the traditional processing industry. We import iron ore, and the steel mills turn it into steel, which is then exported. This whole process increases our steel production, creates a large workforce across the entire supply chain, and ultimately, we can earn foreign exchange from exporting our products. As long as the value of our exports is higher than the total value of the iron ore we import, we can not only support a large domestic industrial workforce but also profit from the price difference."

"It would be even better if British businessmen could allow us to import iron ore with less or no foreign exchange. We can completely develop some steel mills based on this model," said Minister of Commerce Yao Yilin.

All of them are processed with supplied materials.

It depends on how you use it.

"Comrade Yao Yilin hit the nail on the head."

Zhou Bin supported Yao Yilin's statement. One of the main reasons why British merchants wanted to import iron ore to China was to support their factories in China.

We hope to expand production as soon as possible and earn more money through exports.

Seeing that everyone supported it, Chen Yun said, "Comrade Li Fuchun, Comrade Tao Zhu, Comrade Wang Heshou, and Comrade Yao Yilin, then you should come up with a specific plan. Also negotiate with the British businessmen in this regard as soon as possible. Let's try it out at the Guangzhou Iron and Steel Plant first. If the effect is good at the Guangzhou Iron and Steel Plant, we will discuss further cooperation." Chen Yun was very cautious in doing things.

Although everyone thinks that importing iron ore is not a big deal, but is beneficial to the development of China's steel industry. But Chen Yun is still very cautious and wants to take it step by step.

Of course, Chen Yun made this decision mainly because he was worried that Wei Hongjun would oppose it.

However, although Wei Hongjun supports the development of the steel industry in this direction, he also supports Chen Yun's cautious approach.

So no objections were raised.

The Finance and Economics Working Committee held after the Tenth National Congress lasted for three days.

A large number of accumulated problems were dealt with.

By the end of the meeting, everyone was exhausted. However, Wei Hongjun did not rest after the meeting. Instead, he immediately summoned cadres from the Rural Work Department, the Food Department, and the Material Reserve Bureau.

"The situation this year looks much better than last year, but we still can't let our guard down."

1142 Food Problem

"Comrades, I know that the northern regions have had a lot of snow this winter, and that many small rivers in the southern regions have also begun to recover. Everyone is very happy now, and I am happy too, because the three-year nationwide drought is showing signs of easing. However, we cannot be careless yet. We must still focus on food as we did in the past three years. The whole country must continue to conserve food.

The state is primarily responsible for controlling and allocating food. We must be cautious in distributing food to various sectors and not allow it to be distributed without restraint. "The entire nation must remain vigilant."

People are not machines.

Even a machine will break if the spring is stretched too tight, let alone a human.

Human endurance is strong, but it also has limits.

During these three years, New China encountered such a large-scale, nationwide drought for the first time, which put great pressure on the country. In order to survive these three years, the country controlled and allocated food. Whether in cities or in rural areas, everyone lived a tight life. Now many people see

The situation improved a lot in 1962, so we wanted to relax the previous controls.

This is because food control has been too strict in the past three years.

Because of this kind of public opinion starting to appear from top to bottom,

That's why Wei Hongjun convened this grain conference. He had a bigger goal, so China couldn't be careless about grain in 1962.

"General Secretary, everyone has been too tense these past three years.

This year's drought looks much better than in 1961. So we don't want to relax on this aspect.

"I just want to let go from head to toe." Li Shaocheng said.

Over the past three years, many grain-producing provinces have made tremendous contributions to ensuring national food security. These provinces, while having no food shortages of their own, have also implemented food plans for disaster relief, following national arrangements and allocating large quantities of grain.

Of course, the people in the disaster-stricken areas who received state food were far from passive, simply waiting for state relief. For many, the fact that they hadn't starved to death during such a severe drought, and that they were even receiving so much state relief food, significantly increased their sense of belonging to New China, their support for the Communist Party, and their commitment to socialism.

Therefore, during these three years, the people in the disaster-stricken areas showed greater enthusiasm for national construction than ever before. They embraced any national construction project without complaint or regret. As a result, in just three years, the nation's total highway mileage increased by 14 kilometers, making it the three-year period with the most highway construction since the founding of the People's Republic of China. By 1961, the nation's total highway mileage had exceeded 55 kilometers.

And everyone has a clearer understanding of the importance of water conservancy construction, so a large number of various water conservancy projects are being launched across the country.

It's fair to say everyone has been exhausted over the past three years. Now that the nationwide drought is finally over, everyone is naturally eager to get moving. This includes many regions with developed agricultural and sideline product processing industries, who have been waiting for this day for a long time.

Of course, the central government also breathed a sigh of relief.

Therefore, the Ministry of Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Food, and the State Bureau of Material Reserves are planning to gradually loosen up grain supply this year. Given China's agricultural situation, if the disaster situation eases slightly, grain production will inevitably increase by tens of billions of kilograms.

Since grain production is about to recover, everyone thinks that there is nothing to worry about.

"Comrade Deng Zhihui, what do you think?"

"In fact, I also think that if the harvest is good this year, in addition to slightly increasing the grain reserves, we can also release some of the grain from other sources. This will let everyone know that the three-year disaster is over."

Deng Zhihui is a very steady agricultural cadre.

But he also believes that in addition to slightly increasing grain reserves this year, other grain should be put on the market.

Because the country has been depleting its original grain reserves for the past three years, by this year the national grain reserves have been reduced by more than half, so we should take advantage of this year to replenish some grain reserves.

As for other aspects, you can relax a little.

Putting more grain on the market would alleviate the somewhat tight food supply situation in recent years. The Ten Major National Congresses had just concluded, and putting more grain on the market at this time would also be a good thing for Wei Hongjun to establish his prestige.

Although we should not be superstitious, the top ten just ended.

The disaster in China would be alleviated, and more food would be available on the market. This would greatly enhance the reputation of Wei Hongjun, who had just officially become the successor of the party.

"Comrade Zhao Dezun, what do you think?"

"I have the same idea. Everyone has been very tired in the past three years. Increasing the food supply in the market will ease the tension of the past three years."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

Wei Hongjun understood everyone's thoughts. However, on this issue, Wei Hongjun still couldn't give in, so he said:

"I'm actually thinking about more than just the situation in my country. Just thinking about the situation in my country, we've already gone through the most difficult three years of a nationwide drought. But I'm thinking about the problems of the entire socialist camp, especially the problems of the Soviet Union."

When Wei Hongjun mentioned the Soviet Union, Deng Zhihui frowned and said:

"Are you worried about the Soviet Union's food problem?"

Deng Zhihui also had some knowledge of the Soviet Union's agriculture and animal husbandry. After Khrushchev's boastful remarks on the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution, Soviet agriculture hadn't developed as planned. Instead, numerous problems had arisen.

Therefore, before the great drought, China exported an astonishing amount of agricultural products to the Soviet Union in 1958. Even during the three years of the nationwide drought, China still exported a large amount of products to the Soviet Union. This was because the Soviet Union's agricultural development was very slow, and agricultural and sideline products were very scarce in the market.

So Deng Zhihui knows something about this.

"Correct."

The participants in the meeting were all senior Chinese cadres, so Wei Hongjun did not hide anything and said directly: "I have been studying the agricultural problems of the Soviet Union recently. After the death of Comrade Stalin, until 1958, the Soviet Union's grain production increased relatively fast, 6% to 7% every year.

However, starting in 1958, the growth of grain production in the Soviet Union began to decline rapidly, and for several years, total grain production stagnated. Although the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union has been promoting a bumper harvest in recent years, the news we have received from Soviet rural areas is that the growth of grain production in the Soviet Union has almost stagnated in recent years.

"Furthermore, grain production in many areas of the Soviet Union has actually been declining. The reason total grain production has appeared to be increasing in recent years is because the Soviet Union has been reclaiming wasteland on a large scale. Comrade Khrushchev's 'Corn Revolution' in particular has increased corn planting area from an early 40 to 50 million mu to over 500 million mu, and is approaching 600 million mu. The Soviet Union uses agricultural machinery to reclaim tens of millions of mu of wasteland each year, so it appears that total grain production is still increasing. However, despite the addition of so much new arable land each year, the increase in total grain production is very limited, and in some cases, it is even declining. What does this mean? It indicates that there are serious problems in Soviet agriculture."

"Khrushchev's 'corn revolution' did make a significant contribution to Soviet grain production in its initial stages.

However, corn production in the Soviet Union has plummeted in the past two years. Many newly cultivated corn-producing areas are not producing enough grain to cover the cost of seed. This is some of the sporadic information on corn cultivation in the Soviet Union reported by our comrades in the Soviet Union.

Wei Hongjun was very concerned about the Soviet Union.

So Wei Hongjun asked the Chinese Embassy in the Soviet Union to keep an eye on the agricultural situation in the Soviet Union. In this regard, China has a great advantage. Because China and the Soviet Union are in a honeymoon period,

Therefore, exchanges between the two countries, both government and private, were very frequent. Currently, there were Chinese government officials in the Soviet Union, as well as journalists working in Soviet factories, and a large number of students studying in Soviet universities and factories. The total number of Chinese in the Soviet Union, including cadres, students, and workers, totaled tens of thousands.

Many things do not require intelligence agencies to specifically steal intelligence.

As long as the Chinese Embassy in the Soviet Union contacts many Chinese groups in the Soviet Union, while chatting with them,

Discussing some of these issues yields a wealth of intelligence. Putting it all together, it becomes public knowledge. The plummeting corn production in the Soviet Union is no longer a secret in many regions. To the extent that much of the newly cultivated land created for the "corn revolution" has returned to wasteland over the past two years,

Although Khrushchev's position in the Soviet Union was relatively stable, the failure of the "Corn Revolution" was almost common knowledge within the CPSU.