Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

For the first category of cadres, "leave and recuperation" falls into two categories. The first involves cadres who need to recuperate due to accidental injury or physical exhaustion. These periods of rest are brief, typically two to three months. After submitting a leave of absence application, these cadres retain their political rank and position, allowing them to temporarily recuperate. While they are recuperating, their work can be temporarily handed over to other cadres.

This situation is the easiest to accept, because your political rank and position are retained, and you are simply being asked to take a break.

This is currently the case at the central government. Some cadres with poor health are given one or two months of mandatory rest each year, allowing them to stop working and take care of their health.

The second situation is that the person is physically weak and cannot perform the work in the short term. Such cadres need a longer period of rest, which may be six months, a year, or even several years.

For cadres in this situation, they retain their political rank while recuperating, but they will not hold any official position, nor will they retain their original position. Once they recover, they can report to the Organization Department and return to their work. This can be considered a compromise.

As for the latter type of cadres, those who find it really difficult to return to work, they will be forced to "retire" according to the retirement plan.

Wei Hongjun generally agreed with Chen Tanqiu's approach. Chen Tanqiu had been in charge of the Organization Department for many years and had considered many issues very comprehensively.

In addition to formulating the general framework of "retirement and recuperation", Wei Hongjun also discussed pension insurance issues with Zhou Bin.

The issue of basic pension is too big and requires internal communication within the central government and public opinion across the country before it can be formulated.

Therefore, the formulation of a basic pension plan will require at least one or two years of preparation. Wei Hongjun hopes that this plan will be approved at the Tenth National Congress.

Wei Hongjun and Zhou Bin mainly discussed the development of China's insurance industry, as China is currently industrializing and the insurance industry is shrinking within the socialist economic system.

Just like the People's Insurance Company of China, it has been established for more than ten years, but has basically no business.

However, as local free markets develop, there will inevitably be demand for the insurance industry. Therefore, Wei Hongjun hopes to use individual pension insurance to pry open up China's insurance industry.

Basic pensions are a guarantee of life for everyone and a manifestation of socialist fairness. However, as long as we have not entered a communist society, it is impossible to completely avoid some capitalist aspects.

Those with high incomes will undoubtedly seek ways to improve their retirement lives. Given this, there will inevitably be a demand for individual pensions in the future. Therefore, it's wise to establish state-controlled individual pension programs.

Wei Hongjun only expressed his opinions in general, and the specific operations still need to be discussed by Zhou Bin and other cadres in the financial field.

After dealing with these two matters, Wei Hongjun prepared for the first formal inspection of the Central Supervisory Committee.

At this time, Bo Shuchun, Li Shiping, Zhang Jinfu, Wang Zheng, Li Qiang, Wu Heng, and Zhou Fengming found Wei Hongjun and brought him good news.

"Secretary Wei, I just received some good news. At the Leipzig Industrial Fair, our China Electronics Corporation received an order for 14 radios in Eastern Europe."

China Electronics Corporation, whose full name is China Electronics Information Corporation, was established after Wei Hongjun took charge of the Science Working Committee in order to develop the electronics industry. It is an enterprise directly under the Ministry of Electronics Industry.

After Wei Hongjun assumed the position of Director and Party Secretary of the Science and Technology Working Committee, he prioritized the development of China's electronic information industry. This was the core sector of the Third Industrial Revolution. As long as China could reap the benefits of the Third Industrial Revolution, there would be no need to worry about China's economic development in the 1970s and 1980s.

Therefore, the Electronic Industry Administration Bureau of the First Ministry of Machine Building Industry was first separated and the Ministry of Electronic Industry was established to specifically manage the development of the electronics industry.

Li Qiang, who had served as Director of the Telecommunications Bureau of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Director of the Broadcasting Bureau of the General Administration of Press and Publication, and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, served as the first Minister of the Ministry of Electronics Industry.

Then, electronic engineering and research institutes across China were integrated. This included increasing the training of electronic information professionals at universities. Furthermore, the China Electronics Information Corporation was established in Shanghai to manufacture electronic industrial products.

Just like China has the Harbin Trade Fair and the Canton Fair, socialist countries now also have many of their own expositions, where each socialist country showcases its industrial and agricultural achievements.

However, the most famous exhibition in the socialist bloc, besides the Sino-Soviet expositions, was the Leipzig Fair in East Germany. There were several types of Leipzig fairs, including specialized industrial exhibitions and agricultural machinery exhibitions. They were also held in spring, summer, and autumn.

This trip to the GDR was to the Leipzig Industrial Fair. Reputable Chinese factories exhibited their products at the fair, which was second only to the Soviet Union in scale. The China Electronics Corporation's flagship product at the fair was its optimized transistor radio.

This transistor radio had been produced in Shanghai several years earlier, but it wasn't given much attention at the time. This was because China had learned from the Soviet Union's more mature tube radio technology, which had gained market recognition. Currently, all radios on the Chinese market are tube radios.

However, after the Ninth National Congress, Wei Hongjun, who was in charge of the Science Work Committee, began to strongly support the development of China's transistors and integrated circuits.

With Wei Hongjun's support, the resources available for integrated circuit development were enormous, and the resources Wei Hongjun could mobilize were dozens or even hundreds of times greater than before.

Moreover, Wei Hongjun’s requirement is that China’s future semiconductor development should be based on transistor industrial products to generate profits, which in turn will promote the development of China’s transistor industry.

The most basic one was the transistor radio. Thanks to Wei Hongjun's support, the transistor radio industry in China developed very rapidly.

In addition to transistor radios, Wei Hongjun also supported the development of transistor televisions, transistor computers, and so on.

China currently produces its own black-and-white televisions and vacuum tube computers. While production is low, there is a certain foundation. However, Wei Hongjun is more supportive of the development of transistor televisions and computers.

After its establishment, the China Electronics Corporation, with its vast financial and technical resources, had already produced several types of radios and had laboratory products of transistor televisions and computers. This was just in time for the Leipzig Industrial Fair.

"14 units? How much is one?"

"The deal we reached was 97 yuan per unit."

"What's the factory price?"

"I'm not sure yet. This is the first time China Electronics Corporation has received such a large order, and we've never produced so many radios. But after preliminary calculations, the company's cost should be around 40 yuan. After mass production, the cost may drop further."

Zhou Fengming reports to Wei Hongjun.

The first general manager of China Electronics Information Corporation was Zhou Fengming, the first director of the North China Electron Tube Factory.

Because Zhou Fengming successfully completed his mission at the Beijing Electron Tube Factory, he was appointed Director and Party Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. The Beijing Municipal Party Committee also planned to promote him to Director of the Beijing Industrial Production Committee, and further up the list to Vice Mayor of Beijing. Zhou Fengming was only 39 years old.

Zhou Fengming, a cadre from the Jinsui Military Region, was so highly regarded in Beijing because this late-career industrial cadre had achieved remarkable success at the North China Electron Tube Factory. By 1958, the factory's output had tripled its Soviet-aided design capacity, and the profits and taxes it paid to the state alone reached nearly million yuan.

The fact that production exceeded the design output by such a significant amount was a miracle in China's current industrial landscape. Typically, Soviet-aided factories would take several years to reach their design output after mass production. However, the North China Electron Tube Factory achieved this goal, doubling its output in just two years, creating a legend in Chinese industry.

The semiconductor research laboratory he established at the North China Electron Tube Factory successively overcame important technical problems and made significant contributions to the atomic bomb project.

So after the Ministry of Electronics Industry established China Electronics Information Corporation in Shanghai, everyone recommended Zhou Fengming as the first general manager of China Electronics Information Corporation.

As a result, the Beijing Municipal Committee refused to release him, so Wei Hongjun personally wrote a note and called the Beijing Municipal Committee.

"The cost is around 40 yuan, which means more than half is profit. What's the price in the domestic market?"

"We are planning to launch four types of radios: priced at 96 yuan, 109 yuan, 146 yuan, and 208 yuan."

Zhou Fengming replied.

See why we say that industrial accumulation is fast, it is because of this reason. A North China electron tube factory pays nearly 200 million yuan in profits and taxes a year.

Then there's the China Electronics Information Company, which easily makes 40 to 50 yuan in profit on a single radio, and even hundreds of yuan. If they sell a million units in China, they'll make 40 to 50 million yuan in profit. If they sell several million units, they'll make hundreds of millions of yuan.

"What's the specific situation?"

"Secretary Wei, our radios received unanimous praise at the Leipzig Industrial Fair. Our transistor radios are not only much smaller than tube radios, but are also easier to operate and offer comparable performance in all areas. Both East Germany and Poland have placed orders for our radios. Some other countries have also expressed interest, but haven't placed their orders yet."

"That means orders can be increased at any time."

"Yes. And the first batch of orders are from East Germany and Poland. If the results are good, there will be more orders later."

Zhou Fengming was very excited.

The China Electric Corporation was established only a year ago, but it became an instant hit at the Leipzig Industrial Fair, earning a large amount of foreign exchange for the country.

And this is just the beginning. Many Eastern European countries have already contacted CEC, expressing interest in purchasing, though contracts have yet to be signed. Merchants from non-socialist countries have also quietly approached CEC, expressing their willingness to distribute Chinese products if the price could be lowered.

At this Leipzig Industrial Fair, China Electric Corporation was the most popular company. It was possible that they could secure orders worth 400,000 or 500,000 RMB.

Once profits are made, they can in turn support the development of China's semiconductor industry.

"What else?"

"The German Democratic Republic was very interested in our transistor televisions and computers. They wanted to cooperate with our China Electronics Corporation to jointly develop transistor televisions and transistor computers."

"What do you think?"

Wei Hongjun didn't expect that the German Democratic Republic would be so interested in transistors.

Because the Soviet Union chose the vacuum tube route, the socialist camp is currently developing vacuum tubes. In the socialist camp, taking the vacuum tube route is politically correct because this is the judgment of Soviet experts.

Wang Zhengdao: "Secretary Wei, ever since my country's electronics industry decided to focus on transistors and integrated circuits in semiconductor development, the Ministry of Electronics Industry has been looking for a path forward in this area."

"Among the socialist countries, Soviet experts judged transistors to have no future and focused on developing electron tubes. Therefore, the entire semiconductor industry, from upstream to downstream, developed around electron tubes. The only country that still maintained a certain level of technological strength and whose semiconductor industry could contribute to my country's transistor development was the German Democratic Republic."

"Speaking of my country's semiconductor industry, a large part of it was learned from the German Democratic Republic. At this stage, in terms of electronic information industry technology, the German Democratic Republic is still in the first echelon within the socialist camp."

"I believe there is a basis for cooperation between us and the GDR in the electronics industry. Once we establish cooperation with the GDR, we can ask the GDR to help us build more electronics factories, and we can send more students to the GDR to learn about their electronic information technology."

The imperialist camp was a coalition of the United States and Europe, once the world's center. It could be said to be a powerful alliance, as both were once industrial powers. However, the socialist camp, with the exception of a few countries, all originated from agricultural backgrounds.

Therefore, in terms of industrial technology, the socialist camp itself lagged far behind. Furthermore, the Soviet Union's preference for political correctness in promoting science directly affected scientific development and exchange within the socialist camp.

China wants to focus on developing the semiconductor industry, which is mainly based on transistors, and it can hardly find any partners to cooperate with within the socialist camp.

So let's focus on East Germany. East Germany's technological prowess is immense. Not only today, but even during the 1980s, when the economy was in serious decline, East Germany still possessed strong technological capabilities in certain areas.

Even after the reunification of East and West Germany, some state-owned enterprises with strong technological capabilities in East Germany were able to survive in the market economy because their products still contained technological content.

Although it was called the reunification of the two Germanys, in reality the Federal Republic of Germany swallowed up the German Democratic Republic. The Federal Republic of Germany sold off the German Democratic Republic's state-owned enterprises at low prices, claiming they were poorly managed.

There was even a case where a factory was purchased for only 10 million marks, but the land on which it was purchased was worth 100 million marks a year later.

"I also support strengthening cooperation with East Germany in the electronics industry. Currently, East Germany mainly produces industrial products needed by the Soviet Union, while its own light industry and agricultural products are developing slowly. Therefore, East Germany imports a large amount of agricultural and processed products from my country, and the trade volume between us has been increasing."

"We should take advantage of the many opportunities for cooperation between the two sides to further strengthen cooperation in the electronics industry and improve the development of my country's electronics industry upstream and downstream. Moreover, with the technical support of the German Democratic Republic, we can produce qualified transistor televisions and computers more quickly."

"If the transistor televisions and computers we produce are better than those made with vacuum tubes and are as popular as radios, then we can not only export our industrial products within the socialist bloc, but we might even be able to enter European markets like Britain and France."

Zhang Jinfu spoke in support of Wang Zheng.

Wei Hongjun looked at Bo Shuchun, and Bo Shuchun nodded.

"What kind of cooperation method?"

"The GDR's intention is to cooperate with our China Electric Corporation to establish a joint-stock company. Together we will overcome the technical difficulties of transistor televisions and computers, and then jointly produce transistor televisions and computers."

Wei Hongjun thought for a moment and said, "We can cooperate. But the joint venture factory must be located in our country. Televisions in our country are currently hand-made and cannot be considered industrial products. If we can industrialize the television industry by cooperating with the German Democratic Republic, it will directly promote all aspects of our country's industrial technology."

"We can compromise on some non-principled conditions, but we must insist that television production be kept in our country."

1079 Launch Failure

Because the transistor radio was a huge success at the Leipzig Industrial Fair, the next step was for CEC to mass-produce transistor radios.

The current production volume of the China Electronics Corporation cannot meet the demand. Because transistor radios are smaller and less expensive than tube radios, they are bound to be popular once they are introduced to the market.

In domestic and foreign markets, sales of hundreds of thousands of units a year are certain, so China Electric Corporation must increase production.

This wasn't just a matter for CEC. Transistor radio manufacturers had to expand production to cooperate with CEC.

But one problem was that many of the factories that made transistor radios weren't under the Ministry of Electronics Industry. Some were under the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry, some under the Ministry of Machinery Industry, and some under the Ministry of Light Industry. Each enterprise had its own production tasks.

This is one of the biggest problems with a planned economy. If some companies want to increase production, it will cause changes in the production plans of the entire industry. This is not to mention that the production changes at China Electric Power Corporation aren't just small changes, but hundreds of thousands of units per year, potentially even millions.

Wei Hongjun demanded that Bo Shuchun personally take charge of this matter. He also had to coordinate with various ministries and provinces in the Yangtze River Delta region, ensuring that supporting companies were located there. He also demanded full support for China Power Corporation.

The combined population of the rest of the socialist camp, excluding China, is approximately 2.5 million. As long as China's transistor radios maintain their technological leadership and reasonable pricing, they will dominate the market. Exporting one to two million units a year, or even three to four million, is no problem.

This way, China Electronics Corporation could generate hundreds of millions of RMB in profits annually. Combined with the domestic market, the entire transistor radio industry could generate hundreds of millions of RMB in profits and taxes for the country annually.

In addition to the issues about transistor radios, there were also issues about the subsequent development of the electronics industry. Wei Hongjun talked a lot with Bo Shuchun, Zhang Jinfu, Li Shiping, Wang Zheng, Li Qiang, and Wu Heng.

Wei Hongjun asked the State Science and Technology Commission that since China's electronics industry had already determined its direction, it should not hesitate or be distracted by other factors and should boldly concentrate resources to move forward.

Wei Hongjun's decision on the development path for transistor semiconductors and integrated circuits was not without criticism. In particular, after Wei Hongjun invested significant resources in the transistor industry and integrated circuit research, Soviet experts and some Chinese officials who supported the development of electron tubes opposed his decision.

Wei Hongjun's decision significantly impacted the once-booming electron tube industry. After all, the government has limited resources; while some areas will be prioritized, others will inevitably see reduced investment. So, aside from a few leading electron tube manufacturers, which were largely unaffected by government orders, many existing electron tube development plans were axed by Wei Hongjun. How could anyone not have had these thoughts?