Cable No. 3025, Foreign Minister to Ambassador Nakae, 'The Prime Minister’s Visit to China (The Meeting with Chairman Deng - On the Reform of Political System)'

Received at 12:45:11, November 10, 1986

Drafted on November 8, 1986

Primary: Director General of Asian Bureau approved

               [illegible]

               Director of China Division approved

From: Foreign Minister

To: Ambassador to China

Title: “The Prime Minister’s Visit to China (The Meeting with Chairman Deng: On the Reform of Political System)”

Cable No. 3025

Secret, Urgent

[…]

When the Prime Minister asked about reforming China's political system, Mr. Deng gave the following explanation

I have yet to find a clue about political reform, but in my mind I see it as having the following three goals.

The first is to maintain the vitality of the Party and the nation. This vitality has to do with the rejuvenation of the leadership and is a step forward in the four modernizations of personnel that have been going on for several years - revolutionaries, annual blueprints, intellectualization, and professionalization. This isn't something that can be done in three or five years; it takes about 15 years. Next year's 13th Party Congress will take a step forward, but it's very much not a done deal. I would like to go one step further at the 14th Party Congress and complete it at the 15th Party Congress, but by then I would be 93 years old, because I am now 82 years old. It is not something that I can achieve, nor is it something that Hu Yaobang or Zhao Ziyang can achieve.

However, it is important to set a goal. Maintaining vitality is a major undertaking. It would be nice if we could someday see the politicians, corporate managers, scientists, literary figures, etc. of 30s and 40s emerge. For this purpose, we would like to enact a policy to select some young people. This has to do with the education system as well. Anyway, the above is just a start, and there is a lot of work to be done.

(2) The second is to overcome bureaucratism, improve efficiency, and prevent overexpansion of the organization. In other words, there are too many people for the job and they do inefficient work. Because of the inseparability of the party and government, the party often substitutes government jobs and there are overlapping functions of the party and government. The party's leadership itself will be held fast and not be abandoned, but the party must do its leadership well. I've been raising this issue for a few years now, but there are so many issues that I can't wrap my head around the idea. We must enumerate the efficiency of [illegible] the four modernizations. The Japanese take-off also improved dramatically in efficiency during the 1960s.

(3) The third is to motivate the people. In other words, the motivation of the workers, the peasants, and the intellectuals must be harnessed; seven years of reforms have harnessed the motivation of the peasants, but this is due to the decentralization of power. (We) also must decentralize power in industry.

This is where the issue of democratization of management – that is, participation in corporate management – comes into play. This is done in Japan, so the efficiency is very good. We have to work this out too.

In short, if the leadership is energetic, if the bureaucratism is overcome, and if the people are motivated, it will be possible, but we are still studying whether other conditions are needed, and it will not be in time for the 13th Party Congress until around 1988 or 1989.

[Cable] relayed to the [Japanese diplomatic missions in] U.S., Soviet Union, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.