Whether commercial work is done well or badly has a direct bearing on industrial and agricultural production and the people's standard of living, and the importance of this truth has become increasingly manifest in China's economic growth. At present, our commercial networks, establishments and facilities are far from adequate, there are too many intermediate links, market forecasting is weak, and many problems related to ideas about business operation and to management remain to be solved.

After acquiring all relevant information and earnestly summing up experience, we must effectively improve our commercial work and unclog, broaden and multiply the channels of circulation so that commodities can flow freely, materials are put to good use and commerce can play its full role in stimulating and guiding production and in ensuring supply and invigorating the economy.

Fourth, persevering in self-reliance while expanding economic and technological exchanges with foreign countries.

It is our firm strategic principle to carry out the policy of opening to the outside world and expand economic and technological exchanges with foreign countries in accordance with the principles of equality and mutual benefit. We must speed the entry of Chinese products into the world market and vigorously expand foreign trade. We must as far as possible make more use of foreign funds available for our national construction. To this end, it is necessary to do all the required preparatory work well and make proper arrangements with regard to the necessary domestic funds and supporting measures. We must actively import advanced technologies suited to our national conditions, particularly those helpful to the technical transformation of our own enterprises, and strive to absorb and develop them in order to promote our production and construction.

In our efforts for socialist modernization, we must take a self-reliant stand, relying mainly on our own hard work. There must be no wavering whatsoever in this respect. Our aim in expanding economic and technological exchanges with foreign countries is to enhance our ability to be self-reliant and to promote, and certainly not to impair, the development of our national economy. We must refrain from indiscriminate import of equipment, and particularly of consumer goods that can be manufactured and supplied at home. In our economic relations with foreign countries, on the premise of unified planning and policy and co-ordinated action, we must stimulate the initiative of various localities, departments and enterprises in their foreign business dealings while at the same time opposing all acts detrimental to the interests of our country and people. In no circumstances must we forget that capitalist countries and enterprises will never change their capitalist nature simply because they have economic and technological exchanges with us. While pursuing the policy of opening to the outside, we must guard against, and firmly resist, the corrosion of capitalist ideas and we must combat any worship of things foreign or fawning on foreigners.

Comrades! Lenin said that living creative socialism is the product of the masses themselves [2]Beyond all doubt, it would be impossible for the cause of socialist construction to forge ahead without the soaring labour enthusiasm of the masses in their hundreds of millions, without the initiative of thousands of production units and without the hard work of various localities and departments. To yield the best results, all our economic work, principles, policies, plans and measures must be based on overall arrangement, on taking into consideration the interests of the state, the collective and the individual and on fully arousing and scientifically organizing the initiative of the central authorities, the localities, departments, enterprises and the working people. This is the most important way to bring about an all-round upsurge in the socialist economy. We are confident that the people of all our nationalities will surely exert themselves with one heart and one mind for the realization of the great goal of our country's economic development.