Thirty Years of Turbulence - Chinese Enterprises

作者：admin  点击次数：12  发布时间：2025-05-13

This public case is described in many reportage as a struggle between Zhou Guanwu and the old forces opposing the contracting system, but from another perspective, it is a tug of war and struggle between two different interest groups within the state-owned capital group. This kind of struggle will occur in almost all state-owned enterprises. ①

The conflict between Shougang and the supervisory department is a common phenomenon that is increasingly expanding. When the autonomy of the enterprise is implemented, the suppressed production enthusiasm will be stimulated in a short period of time, and the output will quickly increase. However, at this time, the contradiction between the planning system and the internal impulse of the enterprise begins to become sharp. Wang Yuguang, the director of Chongqing Iron and Steel Plant, which was included in the pilot program earlier than Shougang's reform in Sichuan Province, also had the same experience: around 1979, production quickly increased, and the newly produced steel filled the factory's warehouse in less than two months. However, the purchase quota given to heavy steel by the national material reserve department had already been used up. On the other hand, units that wanted steel but did not have planned quotas lined up at the entrance of heavy steel. Inside and outside a factory, production was halted due to swelling, while outside loudly demanded goods but could not be given. Factory director Wang Yuguang gritted his teeth and opened the door to ship, causing heavy steel to suddenly leak out. The planning department quickly discovered the "illegal behavior" of Chongqing Iron and Steel. In 1980, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Economic Commission jointly issued a document stating that "self selling of steel violates relevant national regulations and must be resolutely stopped". The happy days of Chongqing Iron and Steel came to an abrupt end after only a few months, and Wang Yuguang broke into a cold sweat. "Fortunately, we are a pilot enterprise, otherwise I would have been unlucky," he said