Former Site of the National Economic Affairs Commission of the Chinese Soviet Republic

Former Site of the National Economic Affairs Commission of the Chinese Soviet Republic

The former site of the National Economic Affairs Commission of the Chinese Soviet Republic is a classic destination on China’s red tourism routes.

The former site of the National Economic Affairs Commission of the Chinese Soviet Republic is a combined unit among the Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level. It is an important historical relic from the modern era (1933) and is located in Ruijin City, Jiangxi Province.

The Central National Economic Affairs Commission was an essential government department of the Soviet central government tasked with formulating national economic development plans for the Soviet areas and managing overall economic regulation. It was established in February 1933 in Shazhouba, with Deng Zihui, Lin Boqu, and Wu Liangping serving successively as ministers. In April 1933, the National Economic Committee was formed, with eight members including Deng Zihui, Zhang Wentian, Xiang Ying, and Wu Liangping.

The National Economic Affairs Commission had internal departments such as the Investigation and Statistics Bureau, the Planning Bureau, the Grain Adjustment Bureau, the Cooperative Guidance Committee, the Foreign Trade Bureau, the State-Owned Enterprise Management Bureau, and the General Affairs Office. On April 28, 1934, the Central People's Committee issued the 5th Directive, which defined and clarified the working relationships and organizational divisions between the National Economic Affairs Commission and other ministries such as Internal Affairs, Finance, Justice, and Education. Before the establishment of specialized administrative agencies—such as the Ministries of Agriculture, Industry, Transportation, and Domestic and Foreign Trade—the administrative functions of these ministries were largely managed by the National Economic Affairs Commission. Some tasks previously under the jurisdiction of the Finance Ministry, such as the Grain Adjustment Bureau, cooperatives, and the Foreign Trade Office, were temporarily transferred to the National Economic Affairs Commission. Labor re-education facilities, which were formerly overseen by the Ministry of Justice and provincial or county judicial departments, had their production and business operations shifted to the National Economic Affairs Commission. Provincial and county-level grain departments were also merged into the Grain Division of the National Economic Affairs Commission.

The Central National Economic Affairs Commission was one of the government bodies established under extremely challenging economic conditions in the revolutionary base areas. In August 1933, it organized economic construction conferences for 17 southern counties and 11 northern counties. Guided by the principles of “mobilizing all resources to meet wartime needs” and “appropriately improving the lives of the people,” the commission achieved remarkable results in comprehensively driving and developing the economy of the Soviet areas.

In accordance with the requirements of the Soviet central government and based on the realities of economic development in the Soviet areas, the Central National Economic Affairs Commission fully leveraged its comprehensive regulatory role. It provided strategic advice to the central government, timely proposed economic development recommendations and plans, adjusted and optimized industrial structures, coordinated and balanced production demand and supply, concentrated funding on key economic projects, guided and supervised the healthy and rapid development of economic construction in the Soviet areas. Despite starting from a point of poverty and backwardness, it achieved remarkable success and made significant contributions to China’s revolution and the economic development of the base areas. At the same time, it accumulated valuable experience for later macroeconomic management and planning efforts.

In October 1934, the National Economic Affairs Commission and the National Economic Committee ceased operations and relocated with the Red Army during the Long March.

In 2001, the State Development Planning Commission allocated funds to renovate the former site of the Central National Economic Affairs Commission to restore it to its original appearance. It now serves as a revolutionary tradition education base for the National Planning Commission system.