From January 1939 to March 1942, according to the instructions of the Party Central Committee, Liu Shaoqi led the Central Plains Bureau directly into the enemy rear of central China to open up anti-Japanese base areas. In close connection with reality, he quickly opened up the situation and opened up the anti-Japanese base areas in central China, making outstanding contributions to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the development and expansion of the New Fourth Army.
After Liu Shaoqi arrived in central China, on the basis of in-depth investigation and study, he put forward to the party Central Committee the opinion of "creating a base area in northern Jiangsu," holding that "in northern Jiangsu we have no regular troops and party organs to carry out activities, nor local party organizations, and this is the area with the greatest hope for development. The specific plan was that Peng Xuefeng and Zhang Aiping's troops would advance east from Huaibei, the Eighth Route Army would march north and south from Longhai Road, and Chen Yi and Su Yubu would move north from Jiangnan to jointly open up northern Jiangsu. This opinion is supported by the Party Central Committee. After a year of hard work, the New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army met in October 1940 in the victory of the division in northern Jiangsu.
In central China, Liu Shaoqi resoundingly put forward the slogan of unity and struggle in the anti-Japanese national united front, persisted in independently and autonomously developing his own armed forces, and established a base area and an anti-Japanese democratic regime with "three or three systems." According to this guiding ideology, the New Fourth Army took the initiative to cooperate with the Friendly Kuomintang troops in uniting against Japan.
In December 1939, the New Fourth Army in Jiangbei swept away eastern Anhui by the Japanese army, and returned the important town of eastern Anhui, Furukawa, which had been recaptured from the Japanese army, to the Kuomintang friendly forces. However, the anti-communist and anti-friction against the Diehard Kuomintang resolutely launched a self-defense counterattack, and successively won victories in Dingyuan, the Defense of Banta, the Battle of Guocun, and the Battle of Huangqiao. On the basis of mobilizing the masses, the county chiefs of the counties and counties in the base areas were independently appointed, and in accordance with the principle of "three three systems," senators and democratic governments at all levels were set up, thus opening up the situation of resisting Japan behind enemy lines in central China.
Liu Shaoqi insisted on putting ideological construction in the first place in party building, and repeatedly stressed to the vast number of cadres the need to strengthen the theoretical study and ideological cultivation of Communist Party members in the practice of revolution.
On July 1, 1940, in order to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the birth of the Communist Party of China, he gave a famous speech entitled "Be a Good Party Member, Build a Good Party". This speech was widely circulated in the base areas, had a far-reaching impact, and was an important theoretical contribution to the building of the COMMUNIST Party of China.
After the Anhui Incident, Liu Shaoqi provided correct opinions for the Party Central Committee's decision to "take a defensive position militarily and counterattack politically."
At his suggestion, on January 20, the New Army Headquarters of the New Fourth Army was rebuilt in Yancheng, northern Jiangsu Province, with Liu Shaoqi as the political commissar. In May of the same year, the Central Plains Bureau and the Southeast Bureau were merged into the Central China Bureau, and Liu Shaoqi served as the secretary of the Central China Bureau, and he successively presided over the meeting of high-ranking cadres of the Central China Bureau in May 1941 and the first enlarged meeting of the Central China Bureau in January 1942.