His first step was to loosen control on peasants, allowing them to keep or sell whatever produce they harvest in excess of the quota to be given to the state. The policy gave new motivation to rural producers, and production figures have shown an average increase of 9 % over the past six years.
為了揚棄過去的做法，「經濟改革」首先放寬對農村的管制，除了規定「上繳」的數量外，多餘的收成歸個人，並可自行出售。這個措施激起了農民的生產動機，使農業生產快速增加，據中共發表的數字，年平均成長率約百分之九。