What did the declassified documents reveal?

This declassified Central Intelligence Agency staff study, titled "Origins of the Chinese 'Commune' Program," issued on July seventeenth, nineteen-fifty-nine, offers a detailed analysis of the economic and political factors leading to the implementation of the commune program in China. This document, from the Office of Current Intelligence, reflects an early United States intelligence assessment of this pivotal policy shift. This record was released to the public under the Freedom of Information Act and is available through archive.org and documents2.theblackvault.com. The specific declassification authority and release date were May, two-thousand-and-seven. This is a primary source document providing insight into historical U.S. intelligence gathering. The document opens with a summary: "The central problem of the period preceding the Chinese Communist leadership's decision to undertake the 'commune' program was the need to devise a program of economic development adapted to China's specific conditions. These conditions included a huge and rapidly growing population — largely illiterate and untrained — and a backward, underdeveloped economy. The commune emerged as the by-product of a protracted and tortuous process of discovering a distinctive Chinese road of 'socialist construction.'" It continues: "In the winter of nineteen-fifty-five–fifty-six, the publication of the Draft Twelve-Year Program for Agriculture and an ensuing Twelve-Year Plan for Science signaled the beginning of the long march toward the goal of a prosperous and powerful socialist society by nineteen-sixty-seven, the final year of the Third Five-Year Plan. In order to fulfill Mao's pledge of a tremendous expansion of production following the large-scale collectivization of agriculture, a massive investment and construction program was carried out in the countryside in the first half of nineteen-fifty-six, but the promised substantial increment in agricultural production and peasant consumption following collectivization did not materialize." "The immediate reaction was a change of course at the November nineteen-fifty-six plenary session of the party central committee. At this time a policy of 'suitable retrenchment' in economic development was adopted, a major feature of this being an increased emphasis on material incentives as a means of raising agricultural output. A more significant development, however, was the initiation of a process of agonizing reappraisal of fundamental policies, as revealed in Mao Tse-tung's speech on 'contradictions' delivered in February nineteen-fifty-seven. A major purpose of Mao's speech on 'contradictions' and the ensuing 'rectification' campaign was to unite and mobilize the people of China for the great task of socialist construction. Mao clearly indicated that the solutions of China's economic problems could not be found in the Soviet model of economic development." The study elaborates: "Foremost among the special Chinese conditions to be…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

CIA Origins Of The Chinese

◆ BLUF — The short version

This declassified Central Intelligence Agency staff study, titled "Origins of the Chinese 'Commune' Program," issued on July seventeenth, nineteen-fifty-nine, offers a detailed analysis of the economic and political factors leading to the implementation of the commune program in China. This document, from the Office of Current Intelligence, reflects an early United States intelligence assessment of this pivotal policy shift.

Date: SEP 19 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

↯ Dispatch — press play1:00

0:001:00

↯ Share

X in r/

Episode notes

View the primary source document

Questions about this case

What was CIA Origins Of The Chinese about?: This declassified Central Intelligence Agency staff study, titled "Origins of the Chinese 'Commune' Program," issued on July seventeenth, nineteen-fifty-nine, offers a detailed analysis of the economic and political factors leading to the implementation of the commune program in China. This document, from the Office of Current Intelligence, reflects an early United States intelligence assessment of this pivotal policy shift.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

intelligence-vault

Related cases

✉ Dispatches

A short dispatch when a new file is released — narrated, answer-first, and linked straight to the primary source. No spam; unsubscribe anytime.

↯ Subscribe to the feed

RSS feed Browse all cases

CIA Origins Of The Chinese

Questions about this case

Related cases

United States Navy Record Concerning Electronic Intelligence Flights

Today, We Examine A Declassified Central Intelligence Agency Record From May

Today, We Examine A Declassified Government Record Concerning United States

FBI This Declassified Government Record From June Eighteenth, Nineteen Fifty Nine

CIA The Commune: Conception And Experimentation, Spring Nineteen Fifty Eight

Questions about this case

Related cases

United States Navy Record Concerning Electronic Intelligence Flights

Today, We Examine A Declassified Central Intelligence Agency Record From May

Today, We Examine A Declassified Government Record Concerning United States

FBI This Declassified Government Record From June Eighteenth, Nineteen Fifty Nine

CIA The Commune: Conception And Experimentation, Spring Nineteen Fifty Eight

Get the next declassified case in your inbox