In early 1958, in the first Five-Year Plan after the birth of New China, only the Ministry of Petroleum Industry failed to meet its targets. Western countries妄图to use oil to "strangle red China," leaving a young New China in urgent need of oil, with national leaders such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai at a loss. General Yu Qiuli, the one-armed Minister of General Logistics of the People's Liberation Army, was appointed Minister of Petroleum at this critical time.
After taking office, Yu Qiuli, following Deng Xiaoping's instructions to shift the focus of petroleum exploration from the west to the east, actively sought oil fields in the east. At the second meeting of the Eighth Congress, Yu Qiuli led the Ministry of Petroleum, adhering to the previously set tone of "soft on achievements, but not soft on words," delivering a sudden blow to various departments and bureaus.