Making Steady Progress by Striking an Over-All Balance, Opposing both Conservatism and Rash Advance

An important policy of China's economic construction.

On June 4, 1956, according to the proposals of Zhou Enlai and Chen Yun, the 1955 National Final Accounts and 1956 National Budget Meeting of the CPC Central Committee presided over by Liu Shaoqi determined the policy of opposing both conservatism and rash advance in economic construction, that is, of making steady progress by striking an over-all balance. On June 15, the Third Session of the First National People's Congress adopted this policy. In September 1956, the Eighth National Congress of the CPC reaffirmed this policy and pointed out the importance of implementing it in socialist economic construction.

That is, on the one hand, we should "greatly develop the productive forces”, "if we underestimate this possibility", "it is a mistake of conservatism"; on the other hand, it is necessary to “estimate the objective limitations of the current economic, financial and technological forces”, “if we do not estimate these conditions and set an excessively high speed”, “that is the mistake of adventurism.” “The task of the Party is to prevent and correct right conservative or ‘left’ adventurous tendencies at any time, and to promote the development of the national economy actively, steadily and reliably.”