must open deposit and payment accounts at state banks. Bank credit activities are mainly directed towards expanding loans to state-owned trade (accounting for 94% of loans) so that state-owned trade can purchase agricultural, forestry and fishery products and small-scale industrial products, then sell them at the State's directed prices to stabilize the market. The agricultural sector accounts for 4.5% of bank loans. If divided by sector, the state-owned sector accounts for 88%, cooperatives account for 5.9%, and the private and individual sectors account for 6.1%.
During this period, the bank also expanded to attract idle capital and lend in rural areas; helped farmers build credit cooperatives, implemented the policy of taking capital from the people to help them build new lending relationships, and fought against usury. The National Bank also performed the function of foreign exchange management. According to Decree No. 443/TTg dated January 20, 1955, the Foreign Exchange Management Department (the predecessor of the Foreign Trade Bank) was established. This organization had the following tasks: 1) Managing and trading foreign exchange, not letting national capital run out; 2) Managing the buying and selling of foreign exchange in all forms (cash exchange, bank transfer...); 3) Controlling the trading and transportation of gold and silver;
4) Research foreign exchange issues and propose foreign exchange regulations. According to regulations, only the State Bank is allowed to trade in foreign exchange . Such management is to protect monetary sovereignty and at the same time concentrate foreign exchange for economic development.
+ Regarding transportation and post: Transportation and post after the resistance war faced many difficulties. Many routes and sections of road were destroyed; means of transport and technical equipment serving transportation were old, outdated, and much was damaged and lost. The telephone network was almost gone. Before withdrawing, the French colonialists sabotaged and took away telegraph and telephone equipment and technical documents.
Realizing the important role of transportation and post, in September 1954, the Politburo proposed the restoration of trains, roads, river transport, and post offices, considering this a matter of great significance.
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1 At this time, foreign exchange according to regulations includes all types of foreign currencies, money in gold, silver, copper, checks, promissory notes, letters of credit, bonds, certificates of deposit...
most important, indispensable in economic, cultural and social development. In July 1954, the General Department of Railways was established. After 3 years, the railway lines Hanoi - Muc Nam Quan; Hanoi - Lao Cai; Hanoi
- Nam Dinh... was restored. The number of locomotives increased from 36 (1955) to 64 (1957), the number of carriages increased from 589 to 802, freight and passenger transport both increased about 3 times. Compared to 1938, the length of railway in operation in 1957 was only 57.6%, but the volume of transport was 123%. Railway transport in 1957 accounted for 37% of the total transport weight of the entire transport sector (road transport accounted for 12%, waterways accounted for 50%, and airways accounted for 1%).
For roads, the State's policy focuses on restoring the two main traffic axes, the East-West axis (Hon Gai - Hai Phong).
- Hanoi - Hoa Binh - Son La - Dien Bien Phu) and the North - South axis (Cao Bang - Bac Can - Thai Nguyen - Hanoi - Ninh Binh - zone 4 - border line 17). After 3 years, the North restored and repaired 3,248 km of main and inter-provincial highways, renewed and upgraded 583 km of roads to the mountains, built and repaired 16,370 m of bridges. In general, the road network in 1957 exceeded that of 1939 by 38% and formed a smooth system. A notable feature of the means of transport during this period was that the state-owned sector increased very rapidly. At the end of the resistance war, there were only 30 vehicles, by 1955 there were 190 vehicles, by 1956 there were 390 vehicles. By 1958, the North had about 2,640 trucks and passenger cars. Road transport accounts for 12% of the total transport tonnage of the entire transport sector. The development of state-owned transport relies on the State's investment in new equipment. It has had a very good effect in transporting goods on long and difficult routes, in regulating fares, and regulating the private transport force [Dao Van Tap, 1990, 125].
Regarding waterways, the first task is to restore the existing ports of Hai Phong and Ben Thuy to ensure trade with the world and domestic waterway exchange. In general, during this period, the existing ports were taken over, millions of cubic meters of alluvial soil were dredged , canals were cleared, and sunken vessels that caused congestion at river mouths during the resistance war were salvaged. Regarding means of transport
In addition to absorbing the technical means left by the French, we repaired old equipment and assembled new equipment. In April 1956, the State-owned river and sea transport force was established with a system of local state-owned transport enterprises. In early 1957, the State-owned river and sea transport force had 9 ships (170 CV); 36 iron and wooden barges (5,345 tons). By the end of 1957, it had a carrying capacity of 8,495 tons and 2,170 CV. On August 11, 1956, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works established the Waterway Transport Department. By 1957, water transport carried 5.5 million tons, more than double that of 1955 (2.7 million tons).
During this period, we took over airports and aviation facilities. On March 3, 1955, the Airport Research Board was established, under the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army. On January 15, 1956, the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration was established under the Ministry of National Defense. The main task of the aviation industry is to serve national defense, political, diplomatic, and foreign affairs tasks of the Party and State... On April 5, 1956, the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration signed an air transport agreement with China between the two countries. Then, on June 20, 1959, Vietnam and the Soviet Union signed an air transport agreement between the two countries [Dang Phong, 2005, volume 2, 349].
The Postal sector in these years received investment attention and developed strongly. On March 14, 1955, the General Department of Vietnam Post was established under the Ministry of Transport and Post. This was an administrative agency that switched to business. In addition to the main telegraph and postal functions, the sector also had the function of publishing newspapers. The main work during this time was to build a telephone line system, a telegraph network, open mail routes to all parts of the country and connect with international countries.
The volume of postal and communication work carried out increased day by day. In 1957, compared to 1955, the number of mail items sent increased by 2 times, while postal services increased by 8 times, letters by 3.3 times, telegrams by 1.3 times, and long-distance telephones by 1.9 times. Revenue from postal services increased by 2.75 times, and telegraphs by 2.33 times. With such capacity, the postal sector basically met the needs of communication and news exchange of leaders and people. In particular,
Post and telecommunications have effectively served emergency tasks such as land reform, correction of errors, fighting forced migration, fighting floods and storms, and protecting dikes... [Dao Van Tap, 1990, 128].
b. Economic reform and development (1958-1960)
During the transition period to socialism, all countries must carry out two tasks: socialist transformation and socialist industrialization. Carrying out the task of socialist transformation is to eliminate non-socialist economic sectors, creating an economy with two components: state-owned and collective, corresponding to two forms of ownership: the whole people and the collective. Carrying out the task of socialist industrialization is to build a material and technical foundation corresponding to the new relations of production. Carrying out these two tasks aims to create a new mode of production of socialism.
After completing the 3-year economic recovery plan, from 1958 to 1960, the North entered the phase of implementing the 3-year socialist transformation plan and initially developing the economy and culture.
• Socialist transformation
- Party and State policies
The 14th Central Conference of the Party (November 1958) stated the policy: "promoting the socialist transformation of the individual economic sector of farmers and craftsmen and the socialist transformation of the capitalist and private economic sectors" [Dao Van Tap, 1990, 37]. At the 9th session (December 1958), the National Assembly approved the 3-year socialist transformation plan, initially developing the economy and culture of the North with the following main tasks:
1) Promote the development of agricultural and industrial production, taking agricultural production as the main stage, mainly to solve the food problem, while focusing on industrial production, maximally increasing means of production and solving the majority of consumer goods.
2) Reforming private capitalist agriculture, handicrafts, industry and commerce in the direction of socialism, the main step is collectivization.
agriculture, while actively developing and consolidating the state economic sector.
3) On the basis of production development, further improve the material and cultural life of the people, especially the life of the working people; strengthen national defense.
- Development and results
+ For agriculture
Due to the position and importance of agriculture and farmers, socialist reform in agriculture is considered the main step . To turn individual farmers into collective farmers, it is necessary to go through the path of agricultural cooperativization, combining reform with technical improvement and ideological education. This is "the only correct path to bring the farmers of the North to a new level".
"Northward to socialism" 1. Our Party also clearly defined: "Collaboration
Agriculture is the main link in the entire chain of socialist transformation in the North of our country" 2. Applying Lenin's theory of cooperativization, our Party proposed three principles for cooperativization, which are: voluntary, mutual benefit and democratic management . 3. Cooperativization comes before mechanization, coupled with irrigation and technical improvement; The steps are sequential from low to high: work exchange groups to low-level cooperatives and high-level cooperatives; from small scale to large scale.
The collectivization movement took place at a rapid pace. In 1957, 21.9% of all peasant households participated in labor exchange groups and cooperatives (there were 45 cooperatives with 0.03% of peasant households). By the end of 1960, the vast majority
1 Resolution of the 14th Central Conference (November 1958), Central Executive Committee of the Vietnam Workers' Party, 1959, p. 24.
2 Party documents on the agricultural development policy of the North of our country, op. cit., p.16.
3 1) Voluntariness is to let farmers see the superiority of cooperatives over individual production and voluntarily and voluntarily participate, absolutely without coercion or command in any form; 2) Mutual benefit is to deal with the means of production of members brought into the cooperative as well as when arranging work, fair grading, profit sharing... the relationship between the common interests of the cooperative and the individual interests of members must be resolved reasonably;
3) Democratic management in three aspects: production labor, finance and other matters must be discussed democratically and decided by the collective of members, not arbitrary or commanding...
Farmers have joined cooperatives, the whole North has 41,400 cooperatives (with an average size of 33 hectares of land and 68 households per cooperative), covering 73% of the total cultivated area and 85.8% of the number of farmer households, high-level cooperatives account for 11.8% of the number of farmer households with 4,400 cooperatives. In low-level cooperatives, land, buffaloes and main agricultural tools, although still owned by the members, are all put into the cooperative, managed and used by the cooperative. Farmers enjoy land benefits equal to 25%-30% of the harvest of land put into the cooperative [Dao Van Tap, 1990, 39]. The purpose of this method is to let farmers gradually get used to collective farming, and at the same time it is also suitable for the level of cooperative management at that time.
Cooperatization opened up the possibility of attracting surplus labor forces into production, when necessary, it was possible to quickly mobilize a very large number of human resources to serve sudden socio-economic goals. Cooperatization opened up democratic and equal relations, expanding social communication in rural communities [Le Mau Han & colleagues, 2013, volume 4, 193]. Thus, the task of agricultural cooperativeization was basically completed by the end of 1960. However, according to the motto "solidity", it was not guaranteed, because the movement progressed too quickly (within 6 months), the quality of many cooperatives was weak. The "unstable" nature was clearly shown in the two years 1958-1959, in 13 provinces, 5,585 farmer households applied to leave the cooperatives, in 7 provinces, more than 20 cooperatives were dissolved [Quoted from Dao Van Tap, 1990, 43].
+ For private capitalist industry and commerce
After the economic recovery period, the private capitalist economic sector began to stabilize and grow. The capitalists had large capital, mainly concentrated in the cities (Hanoi, Hai Phong). In general, the Northern capitalist households were small businesses, mainly producing with manual tools. Based on the comparison of forces between the proletariat, the political attitude and economic capacity of the national bourgeoisie, the North decided: peaceful reform of private capitalist industry and commerce. The State did not confiscate or requisition, but applied the policy of redemption and gradual return of the means of production of the bourgeoisie, through various forms.
processing, ordering, trading, agency, public-private joint enterprises and cooperative enterprises; combining economic reform measures with ideological reform.
In the reform, the State clearly distinguishes between large and small scale. For large capitalist enterprises, the main form of reform is public-private joint venture. There, all assets of the private enterprise are inventoried, valued, and monthly profits are determined, which are considered the redemption amount that society gradually pays to the capitalist. The capitalists and their family workers are assigned jobs, including in the enterprise management apparatus. In addition to income from labor, the capitalists receive a monthly profit. This is considered a form of gradually paying the value of the assets to the capitalists (calculated as a percentage of the total value of the assets inventoried when put into the public-private joint venture).
For small private establishments, mainly in the form of cooperative enterprises, in which the right to manage the business belongs to the collective of workers, the capitalists receive profits according to shares. In the process of reforming private capitalism, the State combined economic measures with measures to mobilize and educate the capitalists in ideology. In essence, public-private joint enterprises and cooperative enterprises have a socialist character [According to Dao Van Tap, 1990, 40]. The reform of private capitalist industry and commerce was basically completed by the end of 1960. The result was that 729 private capitalist enterprises were transformed into 661 public-private joint enterprises and 68 cooperative enterprises; 1,489 bourgeois and commercial households (accounting for 99.4% of the total number of households) were reformed; 9,481 workers were successfully transferred to the position of employees of the joint public-private enterprise, of which 400 were promoted to the positions of chief, deputy foreman, head and deputy head of the workshop. A number of active capitalists were appointed to new leadership positions of the enterprise [Dinh Quang Hai, vol. 8, 2017, 67].
Along with the process of socialist transformation of private capitalist industry and small-scale handicraft industry, enterprise management has also been improved and consolidated ; the comprehensive leadership role of the Party in enterprises has been established. Many enterprises have implemented economic accounting regimes and established economic and technical norms. Regulations, management regimes, labor discipline regulations and enterprise internal regulations have been successively issued. The
The abolition of the private capitalist economic sector has been linked to the direct liberation of the working class, those who are employed in private establishments. The essence of reform for construction, construction on the basis of reform, both reforming the old and developing the new.
+ For small traders, small owners, individual services
Before socialist reform, the entire North had nearly 180,000 small-scale trading households, about 300,000 handicraft households, 12,339 salt-working households, and tens of thousands of fishermen. The private non-agricultural labor force also existed quite independently, and in urban areas, the proportion of craftsmen, small-scale owners, and small traders developed faster than in rural areas. In 1957, the total number of craftsmen and small-scale owners in the city accounted for less than 1/4 of the total workforce in the group, but by the end of 1960, it accounted for 3/5 of the same group. In the specific conditions of each region, of a socio-economic base based on agriculture, small-scale industry, and newly developed commodity economy like the North, handicraft, commercial, and small-scale trading activities have brought positive factors contributing to improving the people's living standards; Breaking free from the constraints of self-sufficient economic nuances has great significance and is a lesson for today's multi-sector economy.
For craftsmen, the State has a policy of bringing craftsmen into cooperative forms from low to high. This force is brought into handicraft production cooperatives or into professional production groups. The State has used appropriate forms to reform small traders. The majority of small traders are brought into agricultural cooperatives [Le Mau Han & associates, 2013, T4, 195].
By the end of 1960, the North had basically completed the reform of small traders, small owners, and individual handicraft producers. There were 260,000 people in cooperatives and production groups, of which 137,400 people were in cooperatives and 1,256,200 people were in cooperative groups, reaching 87.9% of the total number of small-scale handicraft households subject to reform. The whole North had 401,103 people working in handicrafts with 78,453 production establishments, classified by organizational structure: cooperatives were 22.3%, cooperative groups were 28.7%, small-scale industry in agricultural cooperatives was 20.6%, individual handicrafts