Establish an Independent, Complete and Modernized National Defense Industry

The first generation of the Party's central leadership group with Mao Zedong as the core set the general goal for the development of China's defense industry.

In 1956, the Eighth National Congress of the CPC laid down the general principle of national construction, which envisioned "the construction of a basically complete industrial system". The term complete industrial system included "the ability to manufacture new types of weapons to defend ourselves, such as atomic bombs, missiles, and long-range aircraft for national defense.”

In early 1957, when determining the scale of China's nuclear industry introduction project, Zhou Enlai further proposed that China's nuclear industry should have a complete set and China should be able to form an independent nuclear force.

In December 1959, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council put forward in the “Directive on Certain Issues in the Relation between Economic Construction and National Defense Construction” that China should not only establish an independent and complete modernized economic system, but also an independent and complete modernized national defense industrial system to meet the situation of our large country with a vast territory and a large population.

In February 1960, the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission set vigorously strengthening the basic construction of the national defense industry as the first task of our national defense construction in that year, striving to break through the barrier of cutting-edge technology within three years and to build an independent and complete national defense industrial system within eight years.

In October of the same year, He Long put forward the guidelines for the construction of national defense industry at the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission and set the establishment of an independent and complete modernized national defense industry system as the goal.

In February 1963, in the report of the Central Military Commission to the CPC Central Committee on the construction of national defense industry, it once again clearly proposed the general task and long-term goal of China's national defense industry construction as: With the development of the national economy, an independent and complete modernized national defense industry system should be gradually established to lay a strong material and technical foundation for building a modern revolutionary army.

In order to establish this system, the Ministry of National Defense Industry (the Second Machinery Industry Department) was established in August 1952. Then in 1954, the CPC Central Committee formulated the guideline of "self-reliance as the main factor and foreign aid as the supplement" for the national defense industry and science and technology. In October 1956, the Fifth Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense was established as a missile research institute, which later developed into the Ministry of Aerospace Industry. And in November 1956, the Ministry of Nuclear Industry (the Third Machinery Industry Department) was established.

In order to strengthen the leadership of national defense industry and science and technology, the Science and Technology Committee of the Ministry of National Defense and the Office of National Defense Industry were established in 1958 and 1961. Then in 1963, the Ministry of Electronics Industry (the Fourth Department of Machinery Industry), the Ministry of Armaments Industry (the Fifth Department of Machinery Industry) and the Ministry of Shipbuilding Industry (the Sixth Department of Machinery Industry) were established one after another. And the Ministry of Missile Industry (the Seventh Department of Machinery Industry) was established at the end of 1964.

Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, China's independent and complete national defense industry system was basically formed. Since the Reform and Opening-up, the national defense industry has begun a strategic transformation with the restructuring of China's economic system and industrial system, further implementing the integration of the military and civilian sectors and serving the overall economic construction of the country.