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In 2005, Rong Yiren, a Chinese red capitalist, died of illness in Beijing at the age of 89. Comrade Hu Jintao, then president, and a large number of central leaders attended his memorial service.
Chairman Mao also said to Rong Yiren with appreciation: "Mr. Rong, you are a big capitalist! Rong Yiren not only has a special position in Chairman Mao's heart, but also a financial wizard in the heart of Comrade Deng Xiaoping, the core of the second generation of central leadership.
So why did this legendary red capitalist get so much attention from the central leadership? What was his legendary life like? Today's article will reveal them for you one by one.
Chairman Mao
The oppression of three great mountains
In the sixties and seventies of the nineteenth century, China's national capitalism came into being, but at this time, national capitalism was oppressed by imperialism and feudalism and struggled to survive in the cracks.
After the Xinhai Revolution, the National Government promulgated a series of decrees to reward the development of industry, and industrial groups sprung up one after another, setting off an upsurge of industrial development in China at that time.
During World War I, as the Western powers were busy with the war in Europe and slowed down their invasion of the Chinese economy, many Chinese took advantage of this "short spring" to establish a large number of family-owned businesses.
The father and uncle of the red capitalist Rong Yiren we are talking about today started with the textile industry and flour industry, and the Rong family occupied a huge market share in China at that time, it can be said that Rong Yiren was born with a "golden key".
The Rong brothers
Rong Yiren was born at a time when the family's business was in full swing, and his father and uncle seized the opportunity to establish several textile and flour factories over the years, becoming the famous "textile king" and "flour king" at that time.
After the end of the Northern Expedition, when the Rong family thought that the Kuomintang could bring peace and prosperity to the country. Accidents followed, and since Rong Yiren was 11 years old, the Rong family's enterprises have been constantly hit hard by the Kuomintang and imperialism.
The previous imperialism and feudalism had already weighed down on the Rong family and almost could not turn over, and this bureaucratic capitalism represented by the Kuomintang directly beat the Rong family to the ground.
The Kuomintang government first prepared to close up the Rong family's enterprise on the pretext that the Rong family did not fully purchase the assigned military debts, but fortunately, through the villagers in Wuxi, Wu Zhihui, a veteran of the Kuomintang at that time, was able to settle the matter.
Later, in 1931, the September 18 Incident, the flour market in the north was again occupied by Japan. To make matters worse, Japanese cotton yarn was also dumped in large quantities in China, and Rongshi enterprises were suddenly in trouble.
The 918 incident
However, the Rong family did not collapse because of this, they still struggle stubbornly in this harsh living environment, and they firmly believe that the country will achieve the final victory.
Under such a difficult environment, the total number of Rong family enterprises in the country still reached 21, which can be said to be the leading private industrial group in China at that time, which also shows that the Rong family's business mind is by no means idle.
Rong Yiren's uncle said even more praisefully: "Today Chinese half wear me and eat me. "It is difficult not to make people blush at such a large business group, especially the National Government at that time.
In 1933, Soong Ziwen and Chen Gongbo on the Kuomintang side also began to look at Rong's enterprises, wanting to take them into official ownership through the Nationalist government and occupy them for their own use, this time relying on Wu Zhihui to keep the family business.
After Japan's war of aggression against China expanded, Rongshi enterprises were once again devastated by war, and the Nationalist Government adopted a "wartime control economic policy" in order to meet the needs of the front and ensure complete self-sufficiency of the people's daily necessities during wartime.
Wu Zhihui
Because this policy emphasizes the intervention of the state in the economy, to a certain extent, it restricts the development of private capital enterprises, and Rongshi enterprises are naturally affected by it, and the living space has been greatly squeezed.
At this time, Rong Yiren had just graduated from St. John's University, and he wanted to make a fuss, but because of the war, he turned all his ideals into a bubble.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the demand in all aspects of society surged, and the Rongshi enterprises once again ushered in a new "spring", but the Kuomintang government's practices repeatedly hurt the hearts of a group of national capitalists, including the Rong family.
A large number of enterprises set up by Japanese pseudo-Japanese enterprises could have been resold to private capitalists, but the Kuomintang side believed that this was profitable and all of them were nationalized. This practice of competing with the people for profits has aroused the dissatisfaction of many entrepreneurs.
What chilled the Rong family even more was that in 1946, Rong Yiren's father, Rong Desheng, who was already in his seventies, was kidnapped by several strangers in military uniform in broad daylight.
Rong Desheng
They claimed that they had come to arrest Rong Desheng, an "economic traitor" on the orders of the Songhu Garrison Headquarters, and before everyone around Rong Desheng could react, the soldiers took him away.
When Rong Desheng's relatives ran to the Songhu Garrison Headquarters, the other party flatly denied it, and the Rong family realized that they had been kidnapped, and finally took out $500,000 to redeem Rong Desheng.
The kidnapping shocked Shanghai at the time, and even Chiang Kai-shek was greatly annoyed. Because such incidents were not unique, entrepreneurs were disappointed with the Kuomintang, and coupled with the Kuomintang's successive defeats, many began to transfer equipment and funds overseas.
Many people in the Rong family also began to take the road of foreign land, and among the huge Rong family, only Rong Yiren and his father Rong Desheng remained, and they firmly believed that the Chinese Communist Party would not be as corrupt and incompetent as the Kuomintang.
The national capitalist is born
Rong
However, due to the difference in class, Rong Yiren was also a little hesitant about this new regime at the beginning, after all, the Bolsheviks in the Soviet Union began to eliminate domestic entrepreneurs as soon as they came to power.
However, although many of our party's ideas originated in the Soviet Union, we are following our own path, and as early as the Jinggangshan period, Chairman Mao pointed out that we should take a road that suits China's national conditions.
Therefore, after the founding of New China, our party did not suppress these capitalists, but created a new concept for them - the national bourgeoisie, and hoped to drive the economic development of the entire country through the ability of these private entrepreneurs.
Even on the national flag after the founding of New China, we surrounded the national bourgeoisie as a small star next to the big star represented by the Communist Party, which undoubtedly completely calmed down many entrepreneurs who were still wandering at that time.
In 1950, Chairman Mao received Rong Yiren and some other non-party personages at the Zhongnanhai Yinian Hall, which was the first time Rong Yiren met Chairman Mao, and he was very excited, and Chairman Mao jokingly called him "the young Zhuang faction of China's national capitalists."
Chairman Mao and Rong Yiren
At the banquet, Chairman Mao earnestly hoped that everyone would continue to do a good job for the people and the country, and help our emerging country develop well.
Later, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce held an executive committee meeting, which Chairman Mao personally presided over again. At that time, on the eve of the national public-private partnership upsurge, Chairman Mao was afraid that they would not be able to deeply understand the national policy, so he earnestly talked to them.
Rong Yiren was greatly inspired by the symposium, and he used his profits to invest in enterprises, buy government bonds, and support national construction. For Rong Yiren, what he lost may only be some profits, but what he gained was the prosperity of the entire country.
For Rong Yiren's changes and contributions, the party and the state are in the eyes. In 1956, when Chairman Mao came to Shanghai to inspect, he went directly to Rong Yiren's Shenxin No. 9 Factory.
It was the first and only time Chairman Mao had visited a public-private partnership factory during dozens of inspections in Shanghai. This made Rong Yiren a little flattered, he did not expect that with his casual invitation, Chairman Mao would really come.
Chairman Mao inspected the Shenxin Ninth Factory
Moreover, because the Rong enterprise led by Rong Yiren has been actively cooperating with the policies of our party, Rong Yiren was elected as the vice mayor of Shanghai, which is the first person in the government to hold a public office in the government since the Rong family started business.
The transition from entrepreneur to government personnel is another major turning point in Rong Yiren's life. Soon after, Rong Yiren was appointed vice minister of textiles on the recommendation of Comrade Deng Xiaoping.
Since Rong Yiren had been staying in Shanghai to work before, Premier Zhou was afraid that he would not adapt after coming to Beijing, so he took special care of Rong Yiren to stay in Beijing for half a year and Shanghai for half a year.
This greatly moved Rong Yiren, but he still declined Premier Zhou's arrangement, feeling that he could not be special, so he insisted on working in Beijing.
Later, after some turmoil, the national economy was already on the verge of collapse. Everyone is thinking about where China's economic development is going. What should I do next?
Premier Zhou
New development after reform and opening up
At this turning point in history, everyone hoped to see a new development path, so in December 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee was held in Beijing.
The congress also made the decision to re-shift the building of the party and the state to economic construction and carry out reform and opening up. Not long after the meeting, on 17 January of the following year, Comrade Deng Xiaoping hosted a banquet for five veteran industrialists and businessmen, including Rong Yiren.
Rong Yiren is not only the youngest of these five, but also the most highly expected by the central government. As early as February 1978, at the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, he was elected vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
At this meeting, Comrade Deng Xiaoping also bluntly said to Rong Yiren: "Comrade Rong Yiren, if you think the task you are given, you will accept it if it is reasonable, and refuse it if it is unreasonable, and you will be fully responsible for handling it." You are not to blame for the wrong handling. ”
Comrade Deng Xiaoping
This great trust made Rong Yiren and several businessmen present feel a great honor. Rong Yiren and the others did not expect to believe them so much not long after the party had just set off chaos.
Therefore, with the strong support of the state, Rong Yiren began to prepare for the China International Trust Company, which is mainly engaged in financing overseas funds, and Comrade Deng Xiaoping has been concerned about the progress.
"You find people, you manage things, and you are fully responsible," Comrade Deng Xiaoping held great trust and support for Rong Yiren at that time. Not long after, China International Trust and Investment Corporation, with Rong Yiren as chairman and general manager, was officially established.
This was also one of the three major private enterprises in China at that time, directly under the leadership of the State Council, under the full responsibility of Rong Yiren, and an important window for China to open up to the outside world at that time.
The reason why Rong Yiren was able to become CITIC Company was also due to his certain popularity in the world, and many members of the family were abroad, and his international influence and family advantages were incomparable to many people at that time.
Rong
Because at that time, many Western capitalist countries led by the United States did not understand socialism and were even somewhat hostile, but they were full of favor for Rong Yiren, a person who was proficient in Western culture and business rules.
In order to dispel the concerns of these Western capitalists, Rong Yiren once jokingly said to the famous American capitalist Hamer: "You are a capitalist and have met Lenin. I am also a capitalist, doing socialism, and we are both capitalists and can talk well. ”
Not long after its establishment, CITIC welcomed many countries and regions to negotiate business, and many domestic companies at that time were constantly seeking cooperation with CITIC, including the Ministry of Textiles at that time.
In order to help the textile department with insufficient investment, CITIC issued 10 billion yen of bonds in Japan, which perfectly solved the funding problem, and later this practice of issuing bonds overseas was also followed by other companies.
In 1984, Comrade Deng Xiaoping praised CITIC as a window for China's opening up to the outside world at a seminar on Sino-foreign economic cooperation, which undoubtedly recommended CITIC to well-known entrepreneurs from various countries attending the meeting.
CITIC Group
At the ceremony to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the founding of CITIC Corporation, Comrade Deng Xiaoping personally wrote down the eight characters "Be bold in innovation and make more contributions" as an encouragement and spur to CITIC Corporation.
CITIC and Rong Yiren also lived up to the trust of the central leadership, and in 1987, Rong Yiren was elected as one of the world's 50 most charismatic entrepreneurs, which was the first time that a Chinese company won the honor.
In March 1993, the 77-year-old Rong Yiren was elected vice president of the country, which was the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China that a capitalist held such an important position, which shocked the world.
After becoming vice president, Rong Yiren also slowly retired from CITIC and resigned as chairman, but he has also been constantly contributing to the country's economic development.
Until the death of Rong Yiren at the age of 89 in 2005, the legendary capitalist drew the end of his era, but the legend belonging to the Rong family has not ended, and his only son Rong Zhijian is now the chairman of Longyuan Enterprise Holdings.
Zong Yiren
In the 2020 Hurun Global Rich List, Rong Zhijian ranked 1805th with a value of 11 billion yuan, and the business talent of his family and father Rong Yiren continued to be passed on to him.