编者按：这是马建堂本人写的，当时我任国家经贸委综合司司长，跟随原国家经贸委主任盛华仁同志，在时任国务院副总理吴邦国同志的直接领导下，直接参与了这一改革过程。国务院经过慎重研究，还是决定组建氧化铝生产和电解铝冶炼一体化的中国铝业公司。为此，国务院主要负责同志（编者注：就是当时的总理朱镕基）还向青海、贵州、广西的主要负责同志写了信。以上都是马建堂原话，根据黎智英《苹果日报》的爆料，五矿经过资本运作变成了朱镕基女婿梁青的私人财产。朱镕基因为黎智英曝光了自己和女婿梁青的贪腐行为，就要抓黎智英报复。五矿和中铝的确有一点点差异，但是马建堂写得清清楚楚的，《有色金属工业》，五矿和中铝是一个行业。这篇文章就是马建堂的自供状，他把朱镕基如何亲自指挥吴邦国把中铝和五矿抢到自己家里去写的一清二楚，无可辩驳。难道你比马建堂更了解内幕吗？
马建堂：我所亲历的2000年有色金属工业管理体制改革
作者：国务院发展研究中心党组书记、副主任、研究员 马建堂 2018年05月07日
我国有色金属工业管理体制2000年发生了一次重大的调整和变革。撤销1998年成立并由中央管理的中国铜铅锌集团公司、中国铝业集团公司和中国稀有稀土集团公司，所属企事业单位下放地方管理，同时在中国铝业集团公司基础上，重组成立中国铝业公司。当时我任国家经贸委综合司司长，跟随原国家经贸委主任盛华仁同志，在时任国务院副总理吴邦国同志的直接领导下，直接参与了这一改革过程。时值我国改革开放四十周年之际，谨就这一过程做点回忆，以纪念深刻改变当代中国命运的改革开放大潮。
一、改革的背景
1983年3月，国务院决定把有色金属工业企事业单位从冶金工业部划出来，成立中国有色金属工业总公司，统一管理和经营全国重点有色金属生产、流通企业和科研、设计、学校等事业单位，归口管理全国其他有色金属企事业单位。
中国有色金属工业总公司的成立，对我国有色金属工业的统一和专业化管理作出了重要贡献。随着我国改革的不断深入，为进一步推进政企分开，1998年，国务院决定对国务院机构进行改革，撤销中国有色金属总公司，组建由国家经贸委管理的国家有色金属工业局，原总公司所属的企事业单位，按行业性质，分别组建中国铝业集团公司、中国铜铅锌集团公司和中国稀有稀土集团公司。
有色金属工业三大集团公司设立前后，适逢东亚金融危机的爆发和蔓延。1997年7月2日，金融风暴席卷泰国，泰铢大幅贬值。不久这场风暴席卷马来西亚、新加坡、韩国、日本、中国香港，我国经济也受到深刻影响：出口萎缩、需求不足、价格下降，经济下行压力增大。随着宏观经济形势的日趋严峻，我国国有企业一直存在的企业负债率高、富余人员多、历史负担重等突出矛盾进一步凸显，相当多的国有大中型企业陷入经营困境。国家经贸委和国家统计局监测的6599户国有大中型企业，1998年有4058户亏损，亏损面高达61.5%。这种困难状况在有色金属工业表现得也非常突出，中国铜铅锌集团公司所属的、地处辽宁葫芦岛市的杨家杖子矿务局是这种状况的典型代表。
杨家杖子矿务局是中国最早的钼矿产地。矿山开采始于清光绪年间，日本侵略东北时期，为掠夺我铅锌资源，于1935年设立“满洲铅锌株式会社”。新中国成立后，杨家杖子矿务局是国家“一五”时期的156个重点项目之一，经过多年建设，成为我国重要的以生产钼精矿为主、兼产铅锌的大型有色金属工业企业。
由于多年开采后资源枯竭，再加上债务负担较重，富余人员太多，到上世纪90年代后期，杨家杖子矿务局经营日趋困难，企业亏损严重，工资不能按时发放，各项历史拖欠累累，职工情绪不稳，上访事件不断，2000年2月27日发生了当时震惊全国的杨家杖子矿务局“2·27”大规模群访事件。党中央、国务院对此高度重视，时任中共中央总书记江泽民、时任国务院总理朱镕基作出专门指示，时任国务院副总理吴邦国多次召集会议研究杨家杖子矿务局的稳定、改革与发展。
“2·27”事件的发生，有偶发因素，也带有某种必然性，是国有企业诸多矛盾在当时严峻的国际经济环境和资源枯竭地区的集中体现。这一事件客观上不仅推动了国家支持资源枯竭地区转型升级政策的出台，而且促使党中央、国务院开始考虑调整有色金属工业的管理体制。
二、西北与中南的调研
2000年全国两会刚闭幕，时任中共中央政治局委员、主管经贸工作的国务院副总理吴邦国为推动有色金属工业管理体制改革和中央所属有色金属企业的下放，带领国务院有关部门负责同志赴青海、甘肃、宁夏、陕西四省区调研。随行的部门领导有时任国家经贸委主任盛华仁、劳动和社会保障部部长张左己、国家有色金属工业局局长张吾乐、国务院分管工业的副秘书长石秀诗、中央企业工委副书记王瑞祥、财政部部长助理高强。我时任国家经贸委综合司司长，作为盛华仁主任的助手随行。离京时，北京玉兰含苞待放，柳枝渐绿，但三月中下旬的青海仍然寒气逼人。青海省领导同志是穿着军大衣到机场迎接的。青海当时有三家央属有色金属企业，一是青海铝厂，当时是我国最大的电解铝企业之一，主要是为消纳龙羊峡水电站的水电而配套建设的企业；二是锡铁山矿务局，后来改组为西部矿业公司，虽然叫锡铁山矿务局，但并不产锡，而是生产铅锌；三是民和镁业。在青海期间，吴邦国考察了青海铝厂，与青海省主要负责同志交换了有色金属工业改革和部分企业下放的意见，时任青海省省长赵乐际等省里的同志表态坚决支持和服从党中央、国务院的改革决定。
在甘肃，考察了金川公司和白银公司。当时镍价低迷，金川公司债务沉重，困难重重，提出希望国家解决资本金、债转股、出口退税等七个问题，吴邦国指示国家有关部门逐一研究解决，并要求金川公司勇于竞争，敢于和行业前三名争高低。在他的推动支持下，金川公司很快完成了债转股，通过改制实现了投资主体多元化，使企业摆脱了困境，走上快速发展的轨道。10年后，吴邦国同志再来金川公司时，金川公司规模扩大了近30倍。白银公司与金川公司一样，已严重资不抵债，濒临破产。吴邦国看了铜冶炼厂、铅锌厂以后，深感忧虑，要求企业依托资源优势，依靠科技进步，搞好产品结构调整，迅速走出困境。此后，吴邦国同志还多次批示，给予企业多项政策支持，支持股权多元化，促使白银公司浴火重生。
在宁夏，考察了石嘴山的宁夏有色金属冶炼厂和青铜峡铝厂。在考察青铜峡铝厂时，吴邦国建议，自治区应推动青铜峡电厂与青铜峡铝厂多种方式的联合，因为铝厂是耗电大户，每吨电解铝耗电1.5万千瓦时，电厂和铝厂又离得很近。后来，我国相当多的电解铝企业在铝电联营上进行了多种方式的探索。有的搞自备电厂，有的铝厂电厂联合，有的与电力公司搞电力直购。印象中青铜峡铝厂共三期，其中第三期是比较先进的预焙槽，环保水平较高，而一期和二期工程皆为自焙槽，车间空气污染较重。现在我想已经都改造为预焙槽了。
最后一站是陕西。当时的省委书记是李建国同志，省长是程安东同志。在陕西，考察了华山附近的金堆城钼业公司。该公司始建于1958年，是亚洲最大的钼采矿、选矿、冶炼、加工企业。陕西是我国有色金属大省，不仅有生产企业，还有地质勘查和研究设计单位。这些事业单位下放地方后，涉及到原有的财政拨款等政策的稳定。中央原来掏的钱尽管继续拿，但省里也要增加负担的。但陕西省顾全大局，支持中央改革。下放后，陕西省将中央下放行业单位与陕西地方有色金属企业整合，成立了陕西有色金属控股集团公司，目前企业已成为拥有35家下属单位，在职职工3万余人的大型资产运营与有色金属资源开发加工为一体的大型企业集团。
从西北回来不到一个月，吴邦国又带队到江西、湖南考察有色金属企业，与两省主要负责同志交换有色金属工业整合下放的意见。
江西铜矿资源丰富，铜矿储量占全国的三分之一左右。江西铜业集团公司是国内最大的铜矿开采和冶炼企业，阴极铜产能达到20万吨，拥有我国最大的铜矿——德兴铜矿和当时最大的闪速炼铜厂——贵溪冶炼厂。
2000年4月12日，吴邦国一行来到贵冶调研，视察了闪速炼铜二期工程，提出要把江铜“做大、做强、做好”，创建世界一流铜业公司。回到南昌后，和当时的省委书记舒惠国、省长舒圣佑同志交换了中央所属有色金属企业下放的意见。由于江铜是国内最大的铜企业，江铜等央属企业下放江西，江西的同志们是非常赞同的。江西铜业交给江西省管理后，企业发展迅速，铜冶炼产能由2000年的20万吨增长到现在的120万吨，营业收入从47亿元增加到2023亿元，在2017年中国企业500强中排名第76位，2017年还进入《财富》杂志的世界500强名单。
离开江西后，吴邦国又风尘仆仆赶赴湖南。湖南也是有色金属工业大省，境内探明的十种有色金属储量和产量都位居全国前列，特别是科技实力突出。中南大学是全国有色金属行业的“黄埔军校”，湖南稀土金属材料研究院是国内最早从事稀土材料应用研究与开发的机构之一。吴邦国在湖南调研期间专门到株洲冶炼厂进行了调研。株洲冶炼厂是一个以生产锌、铅为主，并综合回收铜、金、银、铋、镉、铟等多种稀贵金属和硫酸等产品的有色金属综合冶炼企业，是我国主要的铅锌生产和出口基地。由于盛华仁主任指示我留在长沙起草吴邦国副总理在西北和中南有色金属工业管理体制改革调研的草稿，株洲的调研我没有跟随。遗憾的是，正在我写这篇回忆文章的时候，《株洲日报》2018年4月23日报道：别了！老株冶！一个曾经创造了180多项“共和国第一”的工业明珠，计划明年底全面关停，退出冶炼生产。不过，这也是一场必须接受、勇于面对的痛苦转型和凤凰涅槃。
七月初，吴邦国又去云南、贵州，与两省负责同志交换了意见。通过调研，国务院了解到了大多数企业希望下放，地方也希望下放，都支持有色金属工业管理体制进行调整。这让我们对搞好有色金属行业改革发展更有信心。
三、讲话和文件的起草
赣湘两省调研结束后，有色金属工业管理体制的改革进入领导讲话起草、方案细化和文件的起草过程。我承担的第一个任务是起草吴邦国副总理在全国有色金属工业管理体制改革会议上的讲话。领受任务后，我根据随同调研中吴邦国的有关讲话，前期起草的西北、中南五省的调研材料，起草了初稿。初稿的第一部分是关于这次管理体制调整、央属有色金属企事业单位下放的意义。由于我对有色金属工业管理体制沿革不太清楚，文稿就事论事地从调整下放有利于结构优化、有利于有色金属工业改革等角度进行了阐述。草稿经盛主任呈送吴邦国副总理。
吴邦国审阅后指出：1998年撤销中国有色金属工业总公司，分别成立中央所属的三大专业化企业集团。当时讲，这样是为了推动有色金属工业结构优化和调整，现在将大部分中央所属有色金属工业企事业单位下放地方管理，还是说有利于结构优化与调整，显然不太合适。应从总结杨家杖子矿务局群体事件的经验教训出发，指出现行的管理体制不利于有色金属矿山、企业关闭破产工作稳妥进行；不利于地方统一规划、调整结构、更好发展；不利于克服体制上的一些缺陷；不利于发挥地方党委和政府统筹推动企业发展与改革的积极性。吴邦国副总理的指示确实站得高，对于如何写好这次调整的重要性和必要性，使我豁然开朗。吴邦国还交待，由他的秘书陈全训同志和我、国务院研究室工交司司长郭振英一起，对讲话稿进行认真修改，印象中改了一天多。这是我第一次起草国务院领导同志的重要讲话，通过起草讲话，发现自己的诸多不足，也学到了很多东西，为以后从事类似工作积累了经验。
我承担的第二项工作是起草2000年国务院第17号文件，即《国务院关于调整中央所属有色金属企事业单位管理体制有关问题的通知》。17号文件的起草工作比较顺利。起草中，根据国务院领导的意见，学习参考了此前中央下放46户中央统配煤矿的国务院文件，明确了有色金属工业企事业单位下放的范围、名单，下放后的财务关系，历史遗留问题的处理原则，以及国家相关部门和地方的责任，并对下放的企事业单位提出了要求。文件初稿起草后，经盛主任修改后，呈报给了国务院办公厅，报国务院领导同志按程序审定。
在中央所属有色金属企业下放时，为促进中国铝行业的发展壮大，国务院决定在原中国铝业集团公司的基础上，改组设立中国铝业公司。对于组建新的中国铝业公司，国务院领导同志最初有两种设想，一个是只将山西铝厂、山东铝厂、中州铝厂等几家氧化铝企业留在手上，以加强对氧化铝资源的统一开发和配置，通过加强源头控制，防止电解铝能力的低水平扩张，这是“小号”的中国铝业公司设想。另一个是在中央保留上述氧化铝生产企业的基础上，再将青海铝厂、贵州铝厂和广西平果铝厂三家电解铝企业也组合进来，建立氧化铝生产和电解铝冶炼一体化的中国铝业公司，这是“大号”的中国铝业公司设想。在最初的五省调研中，向地方政府交换意见时，是将这几家电解铝企业下放的。最后，国务院经过慎重研究，还是决定组建氧化铝生产和电解铝冶炼一体化的中国铝业公司。为此，国务院主要负责同志（编者注：就是当时的总理朱镕基）还向青海、贵州、广西的主要负责同志写了信。中国铝业公司经过一段时间的筹备，于2001年2月23日正式批准组建，第一任总经理是现任中共中央政治局委员、中央政法委书记郭声琨同志。2000年改革后组建的中国铝业公司当时的氧化铝产量430万吨，占我国氧化铝消耗总量的75%，电解铝产量279万吨，铝材217万吨。经过17年的改革发展，中铝公司现在已成为全球第二大氧化铝供应商，第三大电解铝生产商，总资产超过5200亿元，营业收入超过3000亿元的中央所属骨干企业，为我国有色金属工业的发展壮大作出了重要贡献。
由于这次改革中央决心大，相关企事业单位坚决服从，地方也大力支持，再加上吴邦国副总理亲自深入多省调研，制定的方案比较科学可行，所以2000年有色金属工业管理体制改革进展顺利。除中铝公司外，其余有色金属工业企事业单位由地方管理的体制沿用至今，中央继续管理的中铝公司在改革中克服困难、不断发展，下放的企事业单位经过整合重组也大都成为地方有色金属工业骨干。
18年前，在时任国务院副总理吴邦国的亲自领导下，在盛华仁具体指导下，我有幸参与了有色金属工业的这次改革，见证了中国改革开放四十年伟大征程中的一个具体案例，感受到了老一代领导人勇于改革、善于创新、勤于调研、周密谋划、夙夜在公的风范，也成为自己成长过程中一段难以忘怀、终身受用的经历！
（中国有色金属工业协会会长、时任吴邦国副总理秘书陈全训同志对本文的写作提供了很多帮助，谨此致谢。）
英文翻译
Ma Jiantang’s confession: Zhu Rongji personally directed Wu Bangguo to rob Chalco and give it to his son-in-law Liang Qing
Editor’s note: This was written by Ma Jiantang himself. At that time, I was the director of the General Department of the State Economic and Trade Commission. I followed Comrade Sheng Huaren, the former director of the State Economic and Trade Commission, and directly participated in this reform process under the direct leadership of Comrade Wu Bangguo, then Vice Premier of the State Council. After careful study, the State Council decided to establish the China Aluminum Corporation, which integrates alumina production and electrolytic aluminum smelting. For this reason, the main responsible comrade of the State Council (Editor’s note: that is, the then Premier Zhu Rongji) also wrote letters to the main responsible comrades in Qinghai, Guizhou, and Guangxi. The above are all Ma Jiantang’s original words. According to Jimmy Lai’s “Apple Daily”, Minmetals has become the private property of Zhu Rongji’s son-in-law Liang Qing through capital operation. Zhu Rongji wanted to arrest Jimmy Lai for revenge because Jimmy Lai exposed his and his son-in-law Liang Qing’s corruption. There is indeed a little difference between Minmetals and Chalco, but Ma Jiantang wrote clearly in “Nonferrous Metals Industry” that Minmetals and Chalco are in the same industry. This article is Ma Jiantang’s confession. He wrote clearly and irrefutably how Zhu Rongji personally directed Wu Bangguo to take Chalco and Minmetals to his home. Do you know more about the inside story than Ma Jiantang?
Ma Jiantang: The reform of the management system of the nonferrous metals industry in 2000 that I personally experienced
Author: Ma Jiantang, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group, Deputy Director and Researcher of the Development Research Center of the State Council May 7, 2018
The management system of my country’s nonferrous metals industry underwent a major adjustment and change in 2000. The China Copper, Lead and Zinc Group Corporation, China Aluminum Corporation and China Rare Earth Group Corporation, which were established in 1998 and managed by the central government, were abolished, and their affiliated enterprises and institutions were delegated to local management. At the same time, on the basis of China Aluminum Corporation, China Aluminum Corporation was reorganized and established. At that time, I was the director of the General Department of the State Economic and Trade Commission. Following Comrade Sheng Huaren, the former director of the State Economic and Trade Commission, and under the direct leadership of Comrade Wu Bangguo, then Vice Premier of the State Council, I directly participated in this reform process. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of my country’s reform and opening up, I would like to recall this process to commemorate the reform and opening up that profoundly changed the fate of contemporary China.
- Background of the reform
In March 1983, the State Council decided to separate non-ferrous metal industrial enterprises and institutions from the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry and establish China Nonferrous Metals Industry Corporation to unify the management and operation of key non-ferrous metal production and circulation enterprises and scientific research, design, schools and other institutions across the country, and to manage other non-ferrous metal enterprises and institutions across the country.
The establishment of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Corporation has made important contributions to the unified and professional management of my country’s non-ferrous metal industry. With the deepening of my country’s reform, in order to further promote the separation of government and enterprises, in 1998, the State Council decided to reform the State Council institutions, abolish China Nonferrous Metals Corporation, and establish the State Nonferrous Metals Industry Bureau managed by the State Economic and Trade Commission. The enterprises and institutions under the original corporation were respectively established according to the nature of the industry, namely China Aluminum Corporation, China Copper, Lead and Zinc Corporation and China Rare Earth Corporation.
Before and after the establishment of the three major nonferrous metal industry groups, the East Asian financial crisis broke out and spread. On July 2, 1997, the financial storm swept Thailand, and the Thai baht depreciated sharply. Soon the storm swept Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong, China, and my country’s economy was also deeply affected: exports shrank, demand was insufficient, prices fell, and economic downward pressure increased. With the increasingly severe macroeconomic situation, the prominent contradictions of my country’s state-owned enterprises, such as high corporate debt ratio, large number of surplus personnel, and heavy historical burdens, have become more prominent, and quite a number of large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises have fallen into operational difficulties. Of the 6,599 large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises monitored by the State Economic and Trade Commission and the National Bureau of Statistics, 4,058 suffered losses in 1998, with a loss rate of 61.5%. This difficult situation is also very prominent in the non-ferrous metal industry. The Yangjiazhangzi Mining Bureau, which is located in Huludao City, Liaoning Province and belongs to the China Copper, Lead and Zinc Group Corporation, is a typical representative of this situation.
Yangjiazhangzi Mining Bureau is the earliest molybdenum mining area in China. Mining began during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. During the Japanese invasion of Northeast China, in order to plunder our lead and zinc resources, the “Manchuria Lead and Zinc Corporation” was established in 1935. After the founding of New China, Yangjiazhangzi Mining Bureau was one of the 156 key projects of the country’s “First Five-Year Plan” period. After years of construction, it has become an important large-scale non-ferrous metal industrial enterprise in my country that mainly produces molybdenum concentrate and also produces lead and zinc.
Due to the exhaustion of resources after years of mining, coupled with heavy debt burden and too many redundant personnel, by the late 1990s, the operation of Yangjiazhangzi Mining Bureau was becoming increasingly difficult, the enterprise suffered serious losses, wages could not be paid on time, various historical arrears were accumulated, employees were emotionally unstable, and petitions continued. On February 27, 2000, the “2.27” large-scale group petition incident of Yangjiazhangzi Mining Bureau, which shocked the whole country at that time, occurred. The Party Central Committee and the State Council attached great importance to this. Jiang Zemin, then General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and Zhu Rongji, then Premier of the State Council, made special instructions, and Wu Bangguo, then Vice Premier of the State Council, convened meetings many times to study the stability, reform and development of Yangjiazhangzi Mining Bureau.
The occurrence of the “2.27” incident was accidental and inevitable. It was a concentrated reflection of the many contradictions of state-owned enterprises in the severe international economic environment and resource-depleted areas at that time. This incident objectively not only promoted the introduction of national policies to support the transformation and upgrading of resource-depleted areas, but also prompted the Party Central Committee and the State Council to begin to consider adjusting the management system of the non-ferrous metal industry.
- Investigation in Northwest and Central South
In 2000, just after the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Wu Bangguo, then member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council in charge of economic and trade affairs, led the responsible comrades of relevant departments of the State Council to Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia and Shaanxi to investigate in order to promote the reform of the management system of the non-ferrous metal industry and the decentralization of non-ferrous metal enterprises under the central government. The accompanying department leaders included Sheng Huaren, then Director of the State Economic and Trade Commission, Zhang Zuoji, Minister of Labor and Social Security, Zhang Wule, Director of the State Bureau of Nonferrous Metals Industry, Shi Xiushi, Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council in charge of industry, Wang Ruixiang, Deputy Secretary of the Central Enterprise Working Committee, and Gao Qiang, Assistant Minister of Finance. I was the Director of the General Affairs Department of the State Economic and Trade Commission at the time, and accompanied as an assistant to Director Sheng Huaren. When leaving Beijing, the magnolias in Beijing were about to bloom and the willow branches were gradually green, but it was still cold in Qinghai in mid-to-late March. The leaders of Qinghai Province greeted us at the airport in military coats. At that time, there were three central nonferrous metal enterprises in Qinghai. The first was Qinghai Aluminum Plant, which was one of the largest electrolytic aluminum enterprises in my country at that time. It was mainly built to absorb the hydropower of Longyangxia Hydropower Station. The second was the Xitieshan Mining Bureau, which was later reorganized into the Western Mining Company. Although it was called the Xitieshan Mining Bureau, it did not produce tin, but produced lead and zinc. The third was Minhe Magnesium. During his stay in Qinghai, Wu Bangguo visited Qinghai Aluminum Plant and exchanged opinions with the main responsible comrades of Qinghai Province on the reform of the nonferrous metal industry and the decentralization of some enterprises. Zhao Leji, then governor of Qinghai Province, and other comrades in the province expressed their firm support and obedience to the reform decisions of the Party Central Committee and the State Council.
In Gansu, he visited Jinchuan Company and Baiyin Company. At that time, nickel prices were low, Jinchuan Company was heavily in debt and faced many difficulties. It hoped that the state would solve seven problems such as capital, debt-to-equity swaps, and export tax rebates. Wu Bangguo instructed the relevant state departments to study and solve them one by one, and asked Jinchuan Company to be brave in competition and dare to compete with the top three in the industry. With his promotion and support, Jinchuan Company quickly completed debt-to-equity swaps and achieved diversified investment entities through restructuring, which helped the company get out of trouble and onto the track of rapid development. Ten years later, when Comrade Wu Bangguo came to Jinchuan Company again, the scale of Jinchuan Company had expanded nearly 30 times. Baiyin Company, like Jinchuan Company, was seriously insolvent and on the verge of bankruptcy. After visiting the copper smelter and the lead-zinc plant, Wu Bangguo was deeply worried and asked the company to rely on its resource advantages and scientific and technological progress to adjust its product structure and quickly get out of trouble. Since then, Comrade Wu Bangguo has repeatedly issued instructions to provide the company with a number of policy support, support equity diversification, and promote the rebirth of Baiyin Company.
In Ningxia, he inspected the Ningxia Nonferrous Metals Smelter and Qingtongxia Aluminum Plant in Shizuishan. When inspecting the Qingtongxia Aluminum Plant, Wu Bangguo suggested that the autonomous region should promote the combination of Qingtongxia Power Plant and Qingtongxia Aluminum Plant in various ways, because the aluminum plant is a large power consumer, consuming 15,000 kWh of electricity per ton of electrolytic aluminum, and the power plant and the aluminum plant are very close. Later, quite a number of electrolytic aluminum enterprises in my country explored various ways of aluminum-electricity joint ventures. Some built their own power plants, some aluminum plants and power plants were combined, and some purchased electricity directly from power companies. I remember that Qingtongxia Aluminum Plant had three phases, of which the third phase was a relatively advanced pre-baked tank with a high level of environmental protection, while the first and second phases were self-baked tanks, and the air pollution in the workshop was serious. Now I think they have all been converted to pre-baked tanks.
The last stop was Shaanxi. The provincial party secretary at the time was Comrade Li Jianguo, and the governor was Comrade Cheng Andong. In Shaanxi, we visited the Jinduicheng Molybdenum Company near Huashan. The company was founded in 1958 and is the largest molybdenum mining, beneficiation, smelting and processing enterprise in Asia. Shaanxi is a major non-ferrous metal province in my country. It not only has production enterprises, but also geological exploration and research and design units. After these institutions were decentralized to local governments, the stability of the original fiscal appropriations and other policies was involved. Although the central government continued to take the money it had paid, the province would also have to increase its burden. But Shaanxi Province took the overall situation into consideration and supported the central government’s reforms. After decentralization, Shaanxi Province integrated the central decentralized industry units with Shaanxi local nonferrous metal enterprises and established Shaanxi Nonferrous Metals Holding Group Co., Ltd. At present, the company has become a large enterprise group with 35 subordinate units and more than 30,000 employees, integrating large-scale asset operation and nonferrous metal resource development and processing.
Less than a month after returning from the northwest, Wu Bangguo led a team to Jiangxi and Hunan to inspect nonferrous metal enterprises and exchanged opinions on the integration and decentralization of nonferrous metal industry with the main responsible comrades of the two provinces.
Jiangxi is rich in copper resources, and its copper reserves account for about one-third of the country. Jiangxi Copper Group Co., Ltd. is the largest copper mining and smelting enterprise in China, with a cathode copper production capacity of 200,000 tons. It owns the largest copper mine in my country, Dexing Copper Mine, and the largest flash copper smelting plant at that time, Guixi Smelter.
On April 12, 2000, Wu Bangguo and his party came to Guiye for research and inspected the flash copper smelting phase II project. They proposed to “make Jiangxi Copper bigger, stronger, and better” and create a world-class copper company. After returning to Nanchang, he exchanged opinions with then provincial party secretary Shu Huiguo and provincial governor Shu Shengyou on the decentralization of central nonferrous metal enterprises. Since Jiangxi Copper is the largest copper enterprise in China, the decentralization of central enterprises such as Jiangxi Copper to Jiangxi was highly approved by Jiangxi comrades. After Jiangxi Copper was handed over to Jiangxi Province for management, the enterprise developed rapidly. The copper smelting capacity increased from 200,000 tons in 2000 to 1.2 million tons now, and the operating income increased from 4.7 billion yuan to 202.3 billion yuan. It ranked 76th among the top 500 Chinese enterprises in 2017 and was included in the Fortune Global 500 list in 2017.
After leaving Jiangxi, Wu Bangguo rushed to Hunan again. Hunan is also a major nonferrous metal industry province. The reserves and output of the ten nonferrous metals proved in the province are among the best in the country, especially the outstanding scientific and technological strength. Central South University is the “Huangpu Military Academy” of the national nonferrous metal industry, and Hunan Rare Earth Metal Materials Research Institute is one of the earliest institutions in China engaged in research and development of rare earth material applications. During his investigation in Hunan, Wu Bangguo went to Zhuzhou Smelter for investigation. Zhuzhou Smelter is a non-ferrous metal comprehensive smelting enterprise that mainly produces zinc and lead, and comprehensively recycles various rare and precious metals such as copper, gold, silver, bismuth, cadmium, indium and sulfuric acid. It is my country’s main lead and zinc production and export base. Since Director Sheng Huaren instructed me to stay in Changsha to draft the draft of Vice Premier Wu Bangguo’s investigation on the reform of the non-ferrous metal industry management system in Northwest and Central South, I did not follow the investigation in Zhuzhou. Unfortunately, when I was writing this memoir, the Zhuzhou Daily reported on April 23, 2018: Goodbye! Old Zhuzhou Smelter! An industrial pearl that once created more than 180 “firsts in the Republic” plans to shut down and withdraw from smelting production by the end of next year. However, this is also a painful transformation and phoenix nirvana that must be accepted and faced courageously.
In early July, Wu Bangguo went to Yunnan and Guizhou again and exchanged views with the responsible comrades of the two provinces. Through the investigation, the State Council learned that most enterprises and local governments hope to decentralize and support the adjustment of the management system of the non-ferrous metal industry. This makes us more confident in the reform and development of the non-ferrous metal industry.
- Drafting of speeches and documents
After the investigation in Jiangxi and Hunan provinces, the reform of the management system of the non-ferrous metal industry entered the process of drafting speeches by leaders, refining plans and drafting documents. The first task I undertook was to draft the speech of Vice Premier Wu Bangguo at the National Conference on the Reform of the Management System of the Non-ferrous Metal Industry. After receiving the task, I drafted the first draft based on the relevant speeches of Wu Bangguo during the accompanying investigation and the research materials of the five provinces in Northwest and Central South that were drafted in the early stage. The first part of the first draft is about the significance of this adjustment of the management system and the decentralization of central non-ferrous metal enterprises and institutions. Since I am not very clear about the evolution of the management system of the non-ferrous metal industry, the manuscript expounds on the fact that the adjustment and decentralization are conducive to structural optimization and the reform of the non-ferrous metal industry. The draft was submitted to Vice Premier Wu Bangguo by Director Jing Sheng.
After reviewing the speech, Wu Bangguo pointed out that the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Corporation was abolished in 1998, and three specialized enterprise groups under the central government were established. At that time, it was said that this was to promote the optimization and adjustment of the structure of the nonferrous metal industry. Now, most of the nonferrous metal industry enterprises and institutions under the central government have been delegated to local management, which is conducive to structural optimization and adjustment. Obviously, it is not appropriate. We should start from summarizing the lessons learned from the group incident of Yangjiazhangzi Mining Bureau and point out that the current management system is not conducive to the steady progress of the closure and bankruptcy of nonferrous metal mines and enterprises; it is not conducive to local unified planning, structural adjustment, and better development; it is not conducive to overcoming some institutional defects; it is not conducive to the enthusiasm of local party committees and governments to coordinate and promote enterprise development and reform. Vice Premier Wu Bangguo’s instructions are indeed high-level, and I suddenly understand the importance and necessity of how to write this adjustment. Wu Bangguo also instructed that his secretary Comrade Chen Quanxun, together with me and Guo Zhenying, Director of the Industry and Transportation Department of the State Council Research Office, carefully revised the speech. I remember that it took more than a day to revise it. This was my first time drafting an important speech by a leader of the State Council. Through drafting the speech, I discovered many of my shortcomings, learned a lot, and accumulated experience for similar work in the future.
The second task I undertook was to draft the State Council Document No. 17 of 2000, namely, the Notice of the State Council on the Adjustment of the Management System of Central Nonferrous Metal Enterprises and Institutions. The drafting of Document No. 17 went smoothly. During the drafting process, according to the opinions of the leaders of the State Council, I studied and referred to the State Council document on the decentralization of 46 centrally allocated coal mines, and clarified the scope and list of decentralization of nonferrous metal industrial enterprises and institutions, the financial relationship after decentralization, and the handling of historical problems.
The document was drafted and revised by Director Sheng before being submitted to the General Office of the State Council, and then to the leaders of the State Council for approval according to procedures.
When the non-ferrous metal enterprises under the central government were decentralized, in order to promote the development and growth of China’s aluminum industry, the State Council decided to reorganize and establish Aluminum Corporation of China on the basis of the former Aluminum Corporation of China. Regarding the establishment of a new Aluminum Corporation of China, the leaders of the State Council initially had two ideas. One was to keep only a few alumina enterprises such as Shanxi Aluminum Plant, Shandong Aluminum Plant, and Zhongzhou Aluminum Plant in their hands to strengthen the unified development and allocation of alumina resources, and to prevent the low-level expansion of electrolytic aluminum capacity by strengthening source control. This was the idea of a “small” Aluminum Corporation of China. The other was to combine the three electrolytic aluminum enterprises of Qinghai Aluminum Plant, Guizhou Aluminum Plant, and Guangxi Pingguo Aluminum Plant on the basis of the central government’s retention of the above-mentioned alumina production enterprises, and to establish an integrated Aluminum Corporation of China with alumina production and electrolytic aluminum smelting. This was the idea of a “large” Aluminum Corporation of China. In the initial five-province survey, when exchanging opinions with local governments, these electrolytic aluminum enterprises were decentralized. Finally, after careful study, the State Council decided to establish the Aluminum Corporation of China, which integrates alumina production and electrolytic aluminum smelting. To this end, the main responsible comrade of the State Council (Editor’s note: that is, the then Premier Zhu Rongji) also wrote letters to the main responsible comrades in Qinghai, Guizhou and Guangxi. After a period of preparation, the Aluminum Corporation of China was officially approved for establishment on February 23, 2001. The first general manager was Comrade Guo Shengkun, the current member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission. The Aluminum Corporation of China, which was established after the reform in 2000, had an alumina output of 4.3 million tons, accounting for 75% of the total alumina consumption in my country, an electrolytic aluminum output of 2.79 million tons, and aluminum materials of 2.17 million tons. After 17 years of reform and development, the Aluminum Corporation of China has now become the world’s second largest alumina supplier and the third largest electrolytic aluminum producer. It is a backbone enterprise under the central government with total assets exceeding 520 billion yuan and operating income exceeding 300 billion yuan, and has made important contributions to the development and growth of my country’s non-ferrous metal industry.
Since the central government was determined to reform this time, relevant enterprises and institutions resolutely obeyed, and local governments also strongly supported it. In addition, Vice Premier Wu Bangguo personally conducted in-depth research in many provinces and formulated a relatively scientific and feasible plan. Therefore, the reform of the management system of the non-ferrous metal industry progressed smoothly in 2000. Except for Chinalco, the system of local management of other non-ferrous metal industry enterprises and institutions has been used to this day. Chinalco, which continues to be managed by the central government, has overcome difficulties and continued to develop in the reform. Most of the decentralized enterprises and institutions have become the backbone of the local non-ferrous metal industry after integration and reorganization.
18 years ago, under the personal leadership of then Vice Premier Wu Bangguo and the specific guidance of Sheng Huaren, I had the honor to participate in this reform of the non-ferrous metal industry, witnessed a specific case in China’s great journey of reform and opening up for 40 years, and felt the style of the older generation of leaders who were brave in reform, good at innovation, diligent in research, careful planning, and dedicated to the public day and night. It also became an unforgettable and lifelong experience in my growth process!
(Comrade Chen Quanxun, Chairman of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association and Secretary of then Vice Premier Wu Bangguo, provided a lot of help in writing this article. I would like to express my gratitude.)