At the First Plenary Session of the Fourth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held on October 19, 1992, Comrade Zhu Rongji, alternate member of the Central Committee and vice premier of the State Council, became a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and became the "fifth person" in the Political Bureau of the Central Committee.
As for Zhu Rongji's "three consecutive jumps," there were actually rumors long ago; at that time, many people inside and outside the party held opposing views, and some people even wrote a letter to the party Central Committee to express their resolute opposition.
The reason why Zhu Rongji was able to smoothly "enter the normal" had a lot to do with Comrade Deng Xiaoping, who promoted him from the local level to the central authorities.
At that time, in the face of large and small opposition voices inside and outside the party, Deng Xiaoping vigorously defied the public opinion and said: "Our party now and in the future needs a number of leading cadres with strong party spirit and understanding of the economy. ”
Zhu Rongji
At this time, Zhu Rongji had just served as vice premier of the State Council for more than a year, so why did Deng Xiaoping attach so much importance to him? Let's start with Shanghai in the last century.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="148" How to revitalize Shanghai >? </h1>
In December 1978, at the Third Plenary Session of the Party Central Committee, the Party Central Committee formally made a historic decision on reform and opening up, and established four special economic zones the following year. With the spring breeze of reform and opening up, these special zones have grown rapidly, and the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone has become a "vanguard" that has attracted the attention of the whole country.
However, compared with Shenzhen, which has attracted the attention of the people of the whole country, Shanghai, as China's largest old industrial base and processing center, is too "eclipsed".
Once Shanghai
In the 30 years since the founding of New China, the fiscal revenue of a single city in Shanghai has accounted for 1/6 of the national fiscal revenue, of which 87% needs to be handed over to the national treasury. At the same time, Shanghai's daily industrial product allocation also accounted for 2/5 of the country, so Shanghai at that time had an extremely important position in China.
However, after the reform and opening up, as the country gradually loosened its control over the prices of daily industrial products and food, Shanghai, as an old industrial city, also had some problems, such as backward infrastructure, many "debts" of the municipal government, and serious environmental pollution.
At that time, in Shanghai, even if it was the leading cadres of the municipal party committee and the municipal government, the housing conditions were not much better than those of ordinary citizens. In addition to the secretary of the municipal party committee and the mayor, the housing of the municipal leaders does not even have independent sanitary equipment, and the deputy mayor has to get up early to build a stove.
At the same time, in 1980, Shanghai became the famous "five penultimate firsts" in the country.
First: the average population in the urban area is 41,000 square kilometers, and the population density is the highest in the country;
Second, the urban building density reached 56%, with a per capita road area of 1.57 square meters and a per capita green area of 0.47 square meters, ranking last among major cities in the country;
Third, the per capita living area in the urban area is 4.3 square meters, even so, 60% of the city's residents still do not even have this 4.3 square meters of house, the number of lack of housing households in the country;
Fourth, the average annual death toll in Shanghai is 42.5 per 10,000 cars, ranking first in the country;
Fifth, due to the serious environmental pollution in Shanghai, the number of cancer incidence in the urban area is the highest in the country.
Old Shanghai
Where is Shanghai heading? It became a common concern of the people of Shanghai at that time. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council are very clear about the situation in Shanghai, and have never given up on Shanghai, and even put forward the demand in October 1986: "Build Shanghai into one of the largest economic and trade centers on the west coast of the Pacific."
The question is, what should be done to make Shanghai "reinvigorate" and return to the glory of that year?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="158" > Mayor Zhu of Shanghai</h1>
At the end of 1987, Zhu Rongji, former deputy director of the State Economic Commission, was transferred to Shanghai as deputy secretary of the municipal party committee, and in April of the following year, he was officially elected mayor of Shanghai.
Almost every day, Zhu Rongji received more than 100 letters from Shanghai residents to him, in which he either complained that there was feces or garbage everywhere in the city, or that traffic was too crowded, housing was too tight, and life was difficult.
As the old saying goes, "To strike iron, we must also harden ourselves," and Zhu Rongji understood that Shanghai would not be able to develop without changing the unhealthy trend of bureaucracy and corruption among the cadres in Shanghai.
Therefore, at the first office meeting when Zhu Rongji took office as mayor of Shanghai, he made 8 stipulations on eating and receiving gifts to cadres at and above the bureau level attending the meeting; after that, he also specially presented a sentence from the "Official Proverbs" to the government officials of various districts, counties, and cities in Shanghai: "Officials are not afraid of my strictness, but are afraid of my honesty; the people are not obedient to me, but obey my public." Publicity is clear, and incorruptibility is mighty. ”
In order to make them understand them more deeply, Zhu Rongji also specially explained them word by word.
At the same time, Zhu Rongji also specially sought out Wu Derang, director of the Shanghai Municipal Supervision Bureau, and asked him to keep a firm eye on the 506 leading cadres of the Shanghai Municipal Committee, Office, and Bureau, and to exercise strict supervision over them.
Once the situation is verified to be true, a "Supervision Letter" may be sent directly to the parties, requiring the parties to carry out rectification within the prescribed time, eat and please, pay the fee for wine and dishes, and return the gifts if they receive gifts, and at the same time, the parties' behavior will be exposed.
At the same time, Zhu Rongji also listened to Wu Derang's opinions and carried out propaganda through propaganda departments, so that the broad masses of the people also participated in the supervision of Shanghai cadres.
Zhu Rongji was not only strict with others, but also very strict with himself; he asked to go to the grass-roots level to inspect the work of "one dish and one soup." He himself strictly abided by this stipulation; at the same time, he also formulated for himself the "three precepts" of "not being polite, not cutting the ribbon, and not writing inscriptions."
Zhu Rongji's vigorous anti-corruption and clean government campaign soon achieved good results, and the social atmosphere in Shanghai was clear. In 1988 alone, 29 responsible cadres of committees, offices, and bureaus in Shanghai were dealt with. Later, Zhu Rongji dismissed two corrupt deputy county magistrates and sent an alternate member of the municipal party committee who had violated the criminal law to the judicial organs.
In view of the problem of bureaucratic style, Zhu Rongji also straightened out. At that time, there were not many foreign investors in Shanghai, because foreign investors wanted to invest in Shanghai, and from the establishment of the project to the success of the project, they had to run back and forth between various government departments in Shanghai for a long time, at least 126 chapters. Foreign capital cannot come in, Shanghai has no money, and naturally it will not be able to develop.
To this end, Zhu Rongji specially established the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Investment Working Committee in June 1988, with himself as the director and the vice mayor as the first deputy director. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="170" > Hope for Shanghai in Pudong</h1>
While strictly grasping the fight against corruption and promoting clean government, Zhu Rongji has never forgotten the infrastructure construction issues that the Shanghai people are concerned about. In view of the current situation of traffic congestion and housing shortage in the Puxi area, Zhu Rongji believes that factories and citizens can be relocated to Pudong. As a result, after his policy was proposed, few people responded.
Zhu Rongji, who was extremely puzzled by this, conducted a special investigation at the grass-roots level and found that the main reason why Shanghai citizens were reluctant to move to Pudong was that the infrastructure in Pudong was too poor and inconvenient, and the factory was therefore reluctant to move there.
In view of this situation, After consultation with the secretary of the municipal party committee, Zhu Rongji decided to build two bridges in Nanpu and Yangpu and the tunnel of East Yan'an Road, build an elevated ring road in Puxi, promote the integration of Pudong and Puxi, and make preliminary preparations for the future development and opening up of Pudong.
Nampo Bridge
In fact, the leading cadres of Shanghai Municipality before Zhu Rongji also knew the importance of developing Pudong, and they also wrote a special report to the central authorities and received support from the central authorities. But the development of Pudong is only a local decision, and the central government only sees it as an engine to boost Shanghai's economy, and has not yet regarded it as a national strategy.
Zhu Rongji believes that Pudong is the window for Shanghai in the future, shanghai's hope, and if we want to make Shanghai return to its glory, there is hope only if we get the same support as Shenzhen. He was waiting for an opportunity, and this opportunity came soon.
On January 27, 1990, a rare heavy snow fell in Shanghai, and Comrade Deng Xiaoping, the second core leader of the party and the state, spent the Spring Festival here.
Deng Xiaoping
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, when Zhu Rongji and other leaders of Shanghai Came to Deng Xiaoping's residence to pay his respects, they found that the 86-year-old man seemed to be thinking about something.
At this time, China had just experienced an unusual year of 1989, when Western countries imposed economic sanctions on China for some reasons, and the domestic economy was hit hard. At the same time, the ruling parties of a large number of Eastern European socialist countries lost power in a short period of time, the political economy underwent fundamental changes, and the big brother in the north himself fell into a crisis because of Gorbachev's reforms.
Therefore, some people in China have some doubts about the reform and opening up that is being promoted. In the face of this situation, Deng Xiaoping promptly proposed: "We must strike out the banner of further opening up!"
Shanghai is his "trump card" for further opening up. Therefore, when Deng Xiaoping met Zhu Rongji and others, he asked them a straight question: How to make Shanghai a "new banner" of reform and opening up?
Deng Xiaoping was in Shanghai
Zhu Rongji knew that this was the opportunity he had been waiting for for a long time. Taking the opportunity, he proposed to "develop Pudong into a special economic zone like Shenzhen". After pondering for a long time, Deng Xiaoping said: "The development of Pudong is late, but it is still too late, and the Shanghai side should quickly give it to the Central Newspaper." ”
Although Zhu Rongji was very happy after hearing this, he still had some concerns in his heart, so he said: "The report on development and construction is not ideal, and I dare not report it." Deng Xiaoping knew what Zhu Rongji was worried about, and when the secretary of the Shanghai Municipal CPC Committee went to the Central Committee, Zhu Rongji wanted to "avoid suspicion," so he smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, report it!" ”
When he left Shanghai, Deng Xiaoping said to Zhu Rongji with regret: "I am in favor of your Pudong development. ”
After returning to Beijing, Deng Xiaoping held a special meeting with the central leaders to ask them to pay more attention to the Development of Pudong in Shanghai. On February 26, the Shanghai side officially submitted the "Request for Instructions on the Development of Pudong", which the central government attaches great importance to, and Vice Premier Yao Yilin personally led the responsible persons of the Special Administrative Region Office of the State Council, the Ministry of Finance and other relevant departments to Shanghai to conduct research and demonstration, and raised some questions.
Yao Yilin
On June 2, 1990, the Party Central Committee officially approved the newly submitted "Instructions on the Development of Pudong and the Opening of Pudong" submitted by Shanghai.
Seven months later, on January 28, 1991, Deng Xiaoping went to Shanghai again, and on the way to his residence, Deng Xiaoping listened to a report by Zhu Rongji, who was already the secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, on the development of Pudong. Deng Xiaoping attached great importance to Pudong and told Zhu Rongji: Pudong's development will be at least 5 years late, and if it can be developed a few years earlier, as shenzhen did in those years, the situation of reform and opening up will certainly be stronger than it is now.
16 days later, when Inspecting the New China Machinery Factory of the Shanghai Space Administration, Deng Xiaoping specifically stressed to Zhu Rongji that the four special economic zones established in those years were all considered from the perspective of geographical conditions, such as Shenzhen to Hong Kong, Zhuhai to Macao, and Xiamen to Taiwan. Pudong is different, facing the Pacific Ocean and the whole world.
On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year on February 16, accompanied by leading comrades of Shanghai Municipality, Deng Xiaoping came to the revolving restaurant on the 41st floor of the New Jin Jiang Hotel, looking out the window at the new appearance of downtown Shanghai, Deng Xiaoping once again sighed with Zhu Rongji: "Shanghai is too late to develop, we must work hard!" ”
Zhu Rongji took this opportunity to propose to Deng Xiaoping the strategy of "giving priority to finance" in the development and opening up of Pudong, and Deng Xiaoping was very interested in Zhu Rongji's statement and said:
"Finance is the core of the modern economy, if you do a good job in finance, one move, all live." If China wants to gain international status in finance, the first thing to rely on is you Shanghai, and you have an advantage in this regard. ”
Later, Deng Xiaoping told Zhu Rongji: "I hope that the people of Shanghai will be more ideologically emancipated, bolder, and faster." ”
With Deng Xiaoping's instructions on "three points," Zhu Rongji, who was greatly encouraged, decided to speed up the pace of reform and called 1991 the "year of reform."
Deng Xiaoping and Zhu Rongji
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="193" > "Fire Brigade Leader" Vice Premier Zhu</h1>
On both trips to Shanghai, Zhu Rongji left an extremely deep impression on Deng Xiaoping, who resolutely supported reform and opening up and put forward ideas that were also in line with the current situation of the country.
After the "two sessions" in 1991, Zhu Rongji was formally appointed vice premier of the State Council. The problem is that at this time, the development of Pudong District is still in its infancy, and the projects in Lujiazui, Jinqiao, Waigaoqiao and other places have not yet started. Originally, according to the estimates of Yang Changji, director of the Pudong Development Office, the three projects would cost at least 2 billion yuan, and before Zhu Rongji was elected vice premier, he promised to approve 300 million yuan for him first.
Now that Zhu Rongji has left Shanghai immediately, Yang Changji can't help but feel a little anxious in his heart. At this moment, Zhu Rongji suddenly took Yang Changji and said, "Give less first, how much does it cost to start up immediately?" ”
Yang Changji also knew that Zhu Rongji was about to go to Beijing, so he gritted his teeth and said, "90 million yuan." Obviously, such a large project approval of 90 million yuan can only be said to be a "cup of water and salary," zhu Rongji asked uneasily: "90 million yuan, can it work?" Yang Changji nodded solemnly and said that he would definitely raise enough money.
Zhu Rong looked at Yang Changji for a moment, patted him on the shoulder, and said nothing. A few days later, Zhu Rongji officially left Shanghai for Beijing.
In fact, when Zhu Rongji entered Beijing, some people were not satisfied with this, because Zhu Rongji's "tough" personality was not liked by everyone, and coupled with the fact that he had just been transferred to Beijing in just one year after he became the secretary of the Shanghai Municipal CPC Committee, it was inevitable that some people would have emotions.
However, Deng Xiaoping was very supportive of Zhu Rongji. In Deng Xiaoping's mind, what the Chinese government needs today is a cadre who understands the economy, and Zhu Rongji is a good cadre who understands the economy. To this end, Deng Xiaoping planned to recommend Zhu Rongji to "enter the normal."
With regard to the matter of "Zhu Rongji's entry into the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee," many people inside and outside the party expressed their opposition views, and even wrote a letter of opposition to the party Central Committee. Another person said: "Listen to everyone's opinions more, really want to come up, and then go down passively." ”
Although there was a lot of discussion inside and outside the party about Zhu Rongji's "regularization," Deng Xiaoping's attitude did not change in the slightest, and when a central leader told him everyone's opinions, Deng Xiaoping pondered for a long time and told him:
"Whether it is now or in the future, our party needs a group of leading cadres with strong party spirit, understanding of the economy, and open thinking. However, not many senior cadres understand economics, and Zhu Rongji is one who really understands economics. Some comrades should put away those prejudices, and new good comrades who can devote themselves to the cause of the Party are at hand. ”
With Deng Xiaoping's hammering down, the discussion of Zhu Rongji inside and outside the party has greatly decreased. On October 19, 1992, Zhu Rongji successfully became a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee.
In fact, Zhu Rongji did not fail to live up to Deng Xiaoping's expectations. On July 2, 1993, at the age of 65, Zhu Rongji became president of the Chinese Bank, at a time when China was facing the worst inflation since the founding of the People's Republic of China, a year in which the consumer price index rose by 14.7 percent.
Shortly after the "fire brigade leader" Zhu Rongji took office, he held 8 meetings successively to discuss ways to solve the inflation problem. In Zhu Rongji's view, the most important way to curb inflation caused by excessive economic growth this time is to control the excessive growth of capital investment.
It is not difficult to curb inflation, it can be solved through strong fiscal and monetary policies, and the difficulty is how to suppress inflation while maintaining the normal development speed of China's economy and the stability of the whole society.
Zhu Rongji understood that to curb inflation, we must avoid major economic fluctuations and must not take social stability as a price, otherwise China's ongoing cause of reform and opening up will be seriously dealt a blow.
To this end, Zhu Rongji, under tremendous pressure, did not choose to tighten in an all-round way, but strictly managed the low-level repetitive construction and supported the energy, agriculture, and other parts. At the same time, Zhu Rongji also vigorously straightened out the financial order and successfully achieved a soft landing in China's economy.
Deng Xiaoping was very satisfied with the achievements he made after he entered the Central Committee, and he won the support of the whole party and the people of the whole country, saying that Zhu Rongji was "a rare talent." ”
On 19 February 1997, Comrade Deng Xiaoping passed away, and the following year Zhu Rongji was elected premier of the State Council.
History has proved that the original Pudong development and opening up policy was absolutely correct, so that China's reform and opening up undertakings have entered a new stage, and Shanghai, which was gradually declining, has once again been full of vitality and has become an internationally renowned big city.
If Zhu Rongji was the most eye-catching "dark horse" at the end of the last century, then how could Comrade Deng Xiaoping, who has always supported him and brought him to the central authorities, not be a "Bole" comrade?