Cadres Should Be Both Red and Expert

This is an important policy of the CPC for selecting cadres and approaching intellectuals.

As an established concept, it was advocated, propagated and used for a long time after the founding of New China, and has made a wide impact.

In October 1957, at the Third Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Mao Zedong formally put forward the requirement and policy of "to be both red and expert", he pointed out: cadres in all trades and professions should strive to be proficient in technical and professional work, turn themselves into experts and become both red and expert.” Later, Mao Zedong further elaborated the meaning of "red" and "expert" and the dialectical relationship between them in a series of meetings held in 1958 and in "Sixty Points on Working Methods" drafted under his guidance.

Mao Zedong pointed out that: “Red and expert, politics and business—the relationship between them is the unification of contradictions. We must criticize the apolitical attitude”. “It is beyond any doubt that politics and economy, politics and technology must be unified,” this is the thought behind "red and expert". On the issue of "red" and "expert", we should pay attention to two wrong tendencies, one is to oppose empty-headed politicos and on the other oppose confound practical men, who have lost their direction. "Only being expert, but not red, is being a white expert”. “Political workers must have some knowledge of business. It may be difficult for them to have a lot, but it may not do for them to have only a little. They must have some.” For those who engage in politics, Mao Zedong said: but being red alone won't do, one should have professional and technical knowledge as well, those who are weak in business matters and who do not have practical knowledge are pseudo-red, empty-headedly political.” Politics and business should be combined together, "those who engage in politics should drill into business matters, and those who engage in science and technology should stand and rise to their feet. Between being "red" and "expert", Mao Zedong thought that politics was the predominant and it is the primary aspect. He said: Ideology and politics are the commanders, they are the soul; ideological and political work is the guarantee for the accomplishment of our economic and technological work. He added: “To ignore ideology and politics, to be always preoccupied with business matters—the result will be a disoriented economist or technologist and that is dreadful.”

In the new period of Reform and Opening-up, Deng Xiaoping further made a scientific, vivid and practical elaboration of "being red and expert". Deng Xiaoping pointed out that red and white are political concepts, he said: "Only those who are politically reactionary and those who oppose the Party and socialism can be said to be white." He argued that business problems do not belong to political sphere and cannot be related to white. If a person loves our socialist motherland, and voluntarily and consciously serves socialism and serves workers, peasants and soldiers, "It can be said that he has at the initial level established the proletarian world views", and has become red; being “expert” does not necessarily mean one is “red”, but being “red” means one must strive to be “expert” .