Chairman Mao said: Our goal is to catch up with and surpass the United States… 毛主席說：我們的目標是趕上美國，並且要超過美國…

At least 50 years, perhaps 75 years—75 years means 15 five-year plans. Only when we catch up with and surpass the United States will we breathe a sigh of relief.

We are now in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). A great man is a great man; anyone who disagrees is not a normal person!

“Catch up with and surpass the United States”—this was the slogan resoundingly chanted by the Chinese people in the last century under the leadership of Chairman Mao. To achieve this goal, China steadily advanced, growing from a backward agricultural nation to an advanced industrial nation.

So why did Chairman Mao set this bold goal, and how did he lead the Chinese people to achieve it?

In 1949, the People’s Republic of China was founded under the gaze of the entire world. As the nation reveled in joy, Chairman Mao realized that this new nation would face many thorny challenges. The most significant one was industrialization.

Since ancient times, China has been a largely agricultural nation, pursuing a self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy. Even until the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the majority of Chinese people were still farmers, relying on a few acres of land to provide for their families.

But now that China has entered a new era, developing its economy and strengthening its national strength requires more than just agriculture; industrial development must also keep pace.

How could China, having never experienced an industrial revolution like the West, quickly make the leap from an agricultural nation to an industrial one?

So, Chairman Mao proposed the first Five-Year Plan. The First Five-Year Plan implemented socialist transformation across all industries and emphasized a key focus: concentrating efforts on industrial development.

Under Chairman Mao’s call and leadership, the people of China were energized. Despite limited production conditions, they worked together to overcome difficulties and ultimately achieved their goals.

According to statistics, after the First Five-Year Plan, China’s steel and coal production nearly tripled year-on-year, exceeding the target. Not only that, we can now manufacture everything we once considered “foreign gadgets.”

Cars, airplanes, steel mills, bridges—technical challenges that once required foreign reliance have now been overcome one by one.

All of this is inseparable from Chairman Mao’s magnificent slogan, “Catch up with Britain and surpass the United States!”

In the 1950s, when meeting with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, Chairman Mao expressed his hope that China’s steel production would catch up with Britain within 15 years and surpass the United States within 50.

Chairman Mao’s words were no joke. Steel production is the foundation of industrialization. If we fail to meet steel production targets, how can we become a global leader in industry?

To this end, the central government formulated the “Five-Year Plan,” followed by the second. Through these precise planning efforts, China’s steel production continued to increase.

By 1973, China had essentially caught up with Britain in steel production, and by 1995, it had surpassed the United States, becoming the world’s leading steel producer.

In just a few decades, China has transformed from a poor and weak agricultural nation into the world’s largest industrial power. This is inseparable from Chairman Mao’s vision and leadership, and even more so from the hard work and perseverance of the Chinese people.

We are now in the period of our country’s 14th Five-Year Plan. During these years, China’s development has been remarkably rapid.

If the power of the Chinese people is the bullet, then the Five-Year Plan is the scope, guiding the people’s struggle and propelling our country forward on the right path.

毛主席說：我們的目標是趕上美國，並且要超過美國……

至少50年吧，也許75年，75年就是15個5年計劃，那一天趕上美國超過美國，我們才透一口氣。

而現在正處於第14個（2021-2025）五年計劃中。偉人就是偉人，還有不服的就不是個正常人！

“趕英超美”，這是上個世紀在毛主席的帶領下，我國人民喊得響亮的一句口號。為了實現這個目標，我國一步步前進，從一個落後的農業國成長為了先進的工業國家。

那麼毛主席為何會提出這個大膽的目標，他又是如何帶領着全國人民實現這個目標的呢？

1949年，新中國在整個世界的矚目下成立了。就當舉國上下都沉浸在喜悅之中時，毛主席意識到了，這個新生的國家將會面臨著許多棘手的問題。最大的問題，便是工業化的問題。

自古以來，我國就是一個農業大國，奉行的是自給自足的小農經濟。直到新中國成立，我國的大部分人也還都是農業，靠着幾畝薄田來解決一家人的溫飽問題。

但如今中國邁入了新的時代，要想發展中國的經濟，強大國力，光靠發展農業是遠遠不夠的，工業的發展也需要齊頭並進地跟上來。

但從未像西方一樣經歷過工業革命的我國又該如何在短時間內完成從農業國到工業國的跨步呢？

於是，毛主席提出了第一個“五年計劃”。一五計劃對我國的各行各業都進行了社會主義改造，並且還提出了一個重要的點，那就是集中力量發展工業。

在毛主席的號召與帶領下，全國人民幹勁十足，雖然生產條件有限，但大家卻齊心協力克服困難，最終完成了目標。

據統計，一五計劃結束后。我國的鋼產量與煤產量都同比增長了近兩倍，超量完成了任務。不僅如此，曾經的“洋玩意”如今我們都能自己造出來了。

汽車、飛機、鋼廠、大橋，這些曾經需要依賴外國的技術難題，都被我們一一攻破。

而這一切，都離不開毛主席那句“趕英超美”的雄偉口號！

上世紀五十年代，毛主席在會見但是蘇聯領導人赫魯曉夫時，曾經提到，希望中國的鋼產量能夠在十五年之內趕上英國，在五十年之內超過美國。

而毛主席的這句話卻並不是一句玩笑，鋼產量是工業化的基礎。如果在鋼產量上都沒有達標，又怎能在工業上躋身於世界前列呢。

為此，中央制定了“五年計劃”，第一個五年計劃之後又是第二個五年計劃，在一次次精準的計劃中，我國的鋼鐵產量不斷提高。

1973年，在鋼鐵產量上就已經基本追平英國，到了1995年，我國的鋼鐵產量真的實現了超過美國，成為了世界第一鋼鐵大國。

短短几十年時間，我國就從一個積貧積弱的農業國成為了最大的工業國，這一切離不開毛主席的遠見與領導，更離不開我國人民的努力與堅持。

如今我們正處於國家的第十四個五年計劃期間。在這些年裡，中國的發展速度是肉眼可見的快。

如果說中國人民的力量是子彈的話，那麼五年計劃就是瞄準鏡，它為人民指明了奮鬥的方向，推着我國向正確的道路不斷向前。