Report on Meetings Between Chinese and Soviet Representatives on Rocket Production

23 September 1957

Completely secret

To the Chair of the State Committee of the Soviet of Ministers of the USSR for external economic ties, comrade M.G. Pervukhin

I report to you that for the period of 11 September 1957 to 18 September 1957 four meetings took place in collaboration with Chinese and Soviet representatives on the following issues:

• the organization of a scientific research institute for the development of an armed rocket and guidance system
• the transfer of the R-2 and S-75 models

The first meeting took place on 11 September 1957.  At this meeting comrade Qian Xuesen and other Chinese representatives acquainted themselves with those committee members present and the organizations and factories in China beginning work on the study of the production of rockets and the preparation of cadres in China for the conducting of this work, and also with the problems that are presently before China in the matter of the study and mastering of rocket production.

The Chinese representatives expressed a desire for further meetings to hear the opinions and evaluations of Soviet comrades about the character of their organization of the preparation of the mastering and production of armed rockets, and the recommendations of the Soviet commission for the organization of necessary scientific-research institutes in China, and to inform the Chinese comrades about the transfer of the R-2 rocket.

At the meeting on 13 September 1957 it was recommended to the Chinese comrades to begin at first the creation of two research centers for study of reactor technology.

The first research center should work on all questions connected to the scientific-research and construction work on the production of the rocket type “Earth-Earth,” and the rocket type “Earth-Air,” and also on other rockets, which are needed in the conditions of the Chinese People’s Republic.

The second [research institute] – on all the instruments necessary to guide [the rockets].

The Commander of the Seventh main administration, Cde. Grishin, gave a report about the type and organization of the first institute for scientific-research and construction work and the creation of armed rocket test models.

In his report Cde. Grishin discussed the primary themes, structure, and composition of the institute, the necessary space for the institute, the equipment, and the required collection of electro-energy, water supply, and so on, required for the initial stages of work, and the likely cost of the construction of this institute.

Having heard the information about the organization of the institute the Chinese representatives asked to discuss further this question at the meeting on 16 September 1957.

At the meeting on 16 September 1957 the Chinese representatives asked for answers to the following questions:

• have we considered doing work in the institute on airplane shells
• what technical help will be provided by the Soviet Union.

A number of other questions were also raised.

To all these questions the Chinese comrades were given complete answers, to their satisfaction.

A second issue at this meeting was information about the characteristics of the R-2 rocket, and also about the date and quantity of the technical documentation and models of the R-2 rocket, transferred to the Chinese side.

The Chinese representatives asked to be acquainted at the next meeting with the production characteristics of the S-75 and to be acquainted with models of the R-2 and S-75, and also asked to be presented with an opportunity to look at the plans of the institutes engaged in the production of the rockets in the Soviet Union.

At the meeting of 18 September 1957 the production characteristics of the S-75 system were provided, and we looked over issues relating to the guidance system for the R-2 and the S-75.  Comrade Sharshavin reported on the S-75, and comrade Stas’, from the Ministry of Radio Technology Industry, on the guidance system for the R-2 rocket.

The Chinese representatives asked for more detailed information about the composition of the ground equipment for the given rockets.  General Iuroshev from the Ministry of Defense provided information about the ground equipment, and the Chinese representatives were also informed about how to organize the study of the given models within the Chinese army.

The Chinese representatives expressed the desire to receive a general price for the models and the technical documentation, as well as the price for the plans and the construction of the scientific research institutes and their equipment.  On this question it was communicated to them that the figures may be requested of the State Committee on Economic Ties.

Regarding the question of [their] acquaintance with the models it was communicated to them that such work would be conducted by the USSR Ministry of Defense.  Regarding an acquaintance with the work of Soviet institutes it was recommended to visit VIAM – the institute for the study of materials – on 19 September 1957, about which there is an agreement with the Ministry of Aviation Industry.

At this meeting the members of the Chinese and Soviet commissions came to the conclusion that all the questions that needed to be discussed had been covered.  In the case of new questions arising from the Chinese commission, they will be addressed in the course of work without a meeting of all the members of the commission.  At the 21 September 1957 meeting there was only one request from the Chinese commission – the question of a general price.  The State Committee on Economic Ties communicated information on the price of the models and the production of the technical documentation, and a general price for the planning and construction of the institutes and their equipment.

Present at the meeting were the following:

From the Soviet side:

1.  c. Domrachev

2.  c. Zverev

3. c. Rudnev

4. c. Vladimirskii

5. c. Shokin

6. c. Iuroshev

7. c. Cherviakov

8. c. Grishin

9. c. Sharshavin

10. c. Myshkov

11. c. Titenkov

12. c. Martynov

13. c. Trunov

14. c. Nekhonov

15. c. Titov

16. c. Stas’

17. c. Pivtsov

From the Chinese side

1. c. Qian Xuesen

2. c. Sun Junzhen

3. c. Wang Yi

4.c. Ling Shuang

5. c. Li Qiang

6. c. Tu Shou

7. c. Wang Jian

8. c. Liu Yingfu

9. c. Chang Lusheng

10. c. Li Shinei