Introduction

This CPC document which was submitted to the CPSU (b) and Stalin in relation to the visit of the CPC delegation to Moscow  in July 1949 headed by Liu Shao chi is instructive on the views of the CPC just a few months prior to the success of the people’s democratic  revolution.

It represents a valuable picture of the relations of the two parties under the leadership of Stalin and Mao as do other exchanges of this period.

Its significance is particularly so on the question of the character of the new Chinese revolutionary state. As noted in the article by A. Ledovsky¹ the CPC and Mao had argued in November 30th 1947 that upon the victory of the Chinese revolution all parties other than the CPC would be removed from state power:

“In the period of the final victory of the Chinese revolution, following the example of the USSR and Yugoslavia, all political parties, except for the CPC, will have to leave the political arena, which will strengthen significantly the Chinese revolution.”

The CPSU (b) and Stalin had expressed their disagreement with this view. The CPSU (b) and Stalin replied to the Chinese letter on April 20th 1948:

“We do not agree with this. We think that various oppositional political parties in China who represent the middle classes and oppose the Kuomintang clique, will still exist for a long time, and that the Chinese communist party will have to involve them to cooperate against the Chinese reactionaries and the imperialist states, while keeping its hegemony, and thus the leading role. It is possible that some representatives of those parties will have to be allowed to enter the Chinese people’s democratic government, and that this government will have to be declared a coalition, in order to broaden the support for this government among the population and to isolate the imperialists and their Kuomintang agents.”

It is evident from the letter of the CPC below that the Chinese Communist Party came to accept the Soviet advice.

One more observation may be made about this letter in connection with the development of the theory of People’s Democracy. In this period it was argued that after the completion of the tasks of the anti-feudal and anti-imperialist tasks and the onset of the socialist tasks the properties of the national bourgeoisie would be nationalised:

‘Many measures, which require quite a prolonged period of time, will have to be conducted from now and until national capital is fully nationalised’.

A few days earlier on July 1st 1949 Mao had publicly spoken in On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship, similarly, that with the transition to socialism the enterprises of the national bourgeoisie would be nationalised.²

Such was the position of the Communist Party of China and Mao in the entire period from 1949 to 1954.

After 1954 the published texts of On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship deleted the section of the document which suggested the nationalisation of the enterprises of the national bourgeoisie. This facilitated the new theses of the CPC and Mao that national capital could continue to exist in a regime which had declared its socialist character, as well as the parties of the middle bourgeoisie persisting in the National People’s Congress.

It is known that the leaders of the CPC after the 20th Congress of the CPSU criticised Stalin for his alleged overbearing attitude to the Chinese party leadership. The last line of this document argued that the CPC would like to receive the directives of the CPC and Stalin on various foreign policy issues. In a fraternal way Stalin countered this view:

The Chinese delegation declares that the Communist Party of China will submit to the decisions of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. To us, this seems odd. The party of one state submitting to a party from another state. It has never happened and is impermissible. It is true both the parties must be accountable before their respective peoples, must confer with each other on certain questions, help each other, and in difficulty unite both the parties. So today’s meeting of the Politbureau with your participation serves as one of the forms of association between our parties. And it must be so.

We are very grateful for such an honour, but some ideas are not acceptable and we want to point them out. It is like an advice from a friend. It is so not only in words but in deed too. We may give you advice, but cannot give orders as we are insufficiently informed about the situation in China, cannot even compare ourselves with you in the knowledge of all the nuances of the situation, but above all we cannot give orders because the affairs of China must be fully resolved by you. We cannot resolve them for you.

(J.V. Stalin, From the Conversation with the Delegation of the CC CP of China in Moscow, (11th July 1949)).³

Vijay Singh

1) A. Ledovsky, The Secret Mission of A.I. Mikoyan to China (January-February 1949) at https://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/rdv22n2/mikoyan.htm  and Part 11 at https://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/rdv23n2/Mao.htm

2) https://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/archive/MaoPPD2.pdf

3) https://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/rdv16n1/china.htm

Top secret

Translation from Chinese.

Central Committee of VKP(b)

To Comrade Stalin I.V.

We are sending the attached report to you.

The head of the delegation of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party

Liu Shaoqi (signed)

July 4th 1949.

Top secret

Translation from Chinese.

1. CURRENT STATE OF THE CHINESE REVOLUTION.

At present, the revolutionary war of the Chinese People has mainly been won, and will soon be ended with full victory.

By the end of May, 1949, People’s Liberation Army of China has already seized 2,900,000 square kilometers of the wealthiest regions of the country, which account to 30% of the total territory of China (it is 30%, because Xinjiang, Qinghai and Tibet occupy the largest part of the country). The territory liberated by the PLA is inhabited by 275,000,000  people, who account to 57% of the total population of China. The PLA has seized 1,043 major cities, including such large cities as Shanghai, Nanjing, Beiping, Tianjin, Wuhan, which account to 51% of the 2,000 Chinese cities of county-level and higher.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army, in its three years  of warfare, has destroyed 5,590,000 Guomindan troops. At present, in the Guomindan army – including the rear institutions - only about 1,500,000 troops are left, of which only approximately 200,000 troops can be considered more or less capable of fighting. On the other hand, the PLA - according to most recent data - already includes in its ranks 3,900,000 people. The four field armies consist of 2,400,000 people, while the rest has been distributed among military zones, local troops, armies of the Chief Command, military institutions and military schools. The aviation has 7,500 people, while the navy has 7,700 people. [1. And are there pilots? Are there seamen?]

During this year’s summer and autumn, the People’s Liberation Army will be able to liberate the provinces of Fujian, Hunan, Jiangxi, Shenxi, and during winter it will be able to liberate Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Sikang, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinhai. At that stage, military operations against Guomindan will mainly cease. There will yet remain the tasks to liberate Formosa, Hainan island, Xinjiang and Tibet. The Tibetan issue needs to be decided by political means rather than by military actions. Formosa, Hainan and Xinjiang will be liberated within the next year. Because part of the Guomindan troops in Formosa will probably come over to fight on our side, liberation of Formosa could occur before that deadline. We would like to liberate Xinjiang as soon as possible, but a big challenge for us in this business would be to clear the path to Xinjiang from the enemy and to guarantee the traffic on this way. The lack of necessary means of transportation is also a big challenge (to get to Xinjiang from Gansu, one needs to overcome a long road through deserted areas where food and water are not available). If only we could overcome these difficulties, we would be able to liberate Xinjiang much earlier.

Apart from military victories, we also have political ones. American imperialists and Chiang Kai Shi’s Guomindan are already in full isolation. All the democratic parties and groups are standing on our side. Popular masses are warmly welcoming People’s Liberation Army and raise their voice against the imperialists and Guomindan.

We believe that currently the victory of the Chinese revolution cannot be doubted. However, because our troops’ actions are limited by communications and natural conditions, some time will still be needed before a full victory is achieved.

We were always cautious about the possibility of an armed interference by the imperialists against the Chinese revolution. The guidelines given to us from VKP’s side on this issue, which we fully agree with, made our attention even sharper in this respect. At present, we have not weakened our vigilance as to the possibility of an armed interference by the imperialists, but, judging from current international situation, the possibility that the imperialists send more than 1,000,000 troops for broad intervention in China seems to be absent. This kind of actions from their side would only delay the time of the final victory of the Chinese Revolution, but they are unable to liquidate or stop the Chinese Revolution. On the opposite, they will put the imperialists into a difficult situation.

It is quite possible that the imperialists send 100 or 200 thousand troops to seize three or four Chinese ports, or to perform various wrecking activities. Given the possibility of such actions on the imperialists’ side, we have already done some preparations. Since we do not have any naval fleet or military air force, there is no seashore defence. The above-mentioned armed attack by the imperialists could cause difficulty and damage to us, but our military forces will not suffer a defeat. Such actions by the imperialists will cause the Chinese People and its army to rise against the imperialists, and they will chase away the imperialist troops.

Because of the above, we believe that if we act right, the imperialists will probably not try to stage a direct armed intervention in China. We will have to watch that there is no incident to provoke a chance for the imperialists to stage an armed intervention. At the same time, we need to liquidate the agents of the imperialists – i.e., what is left of the forces of Guomindan – as soon as possible, which will increase the difficulties for the imperialists if they go for an armed interference in China.

There is huge possibility that the imperialists will subject the Chinese revolution to the policy of blockade. They have already started to implement this policy. This policy will cause certain difficulties for us, especially in the areas of shipment and international trade, but it will not stop the Chinese revolution from quick victory.

The victories of the Chinese People in its revolutionary struggle occur after the Second World War – at the time when the world’s proletariat and people’s democratic forces, especially the Soviet Union, are helping the Chinese People – and this is the decisive condition of the victories by the Chinese People. The Communist Party of China makes use of these conditions. Chinese Revolution has experience of successfully organizing a united anti-imperialist national front, agrarian revolution, long-term rural armed struggle, encirclement of cities with their later seizure. Chinese revolution has experience of illegal and legal struggle in the cities and of combining this struggle with the actions by our armed forces. Finally, we have the experience of constructing a Marxist-Leninist Communist Party in such country as China. All this experience will probably be useful for other colonial and semi-colonial countries.

2. THE NEW POLITICAL CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL AND THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT.

The revolutionary war in China has mainly been won and will be concluded with a final victory in the nearest future.

We decided, in August of this year, to call upon the new Political Consultative Council and to create a coalition government. Now we are doing the preparation work actively. The new PCC is being called upon not by the Chinese Communist Party alone or by several parties, but by all democratic parties, people’s organizations, representatives of the national minorities and the overseas Chinese - totally 23 organizations, which together prepare this session of the PCC. The democratic and non-partisan public activists are quite happy about such method of organizing the PCC.

At present, a Preparation Committee to call upon the PCC has already been created. It consists of 134 members, including: communists – 43 people, progressive activists who will unconditionally support us – 48 people, centrists – 43, of whom centrists leaning to the right – 12. There are 15 secret communists among the progressives. The leadership of the Communists in the Preparation Committee is guaranteed. In the Preparation Committee, there is a Presidium which includes 21 people. The leadership in this Presidium has also been guaranteed for the Communist Party.

At the Preparation Committee it was decided to allow participation by another 14 democratic parties and groups, which can send 142 representatives, in the PCC. Localities are represented in the PCC by 102 people, the army - by 60, mass people’s organizations, national minorities and Chinese citizens abroad – by 206 people. In total, 45 organizations will participate in the PCC with 510 representatives. Among these representatives, communists account to majority.

We believe that the PCC of China is an appropriate organizational form for the united national front in the Chinese revolution, which the masses of people are very familiar with. Therefore, we intend to leave the PCC as a permanently active body, while local PCCs will be created locally where it is needed.

In the PCC we intend to adopt a common political programme, which all the parties, groups and organizations will adhere to. In the PCC, a central government will be elected, a declaration will be developed and published, and a new state hymn, coat of arms and flag will be approved. [2. And provincial gov’ts will happen to be there as well?]

The organizational membership in the new Central Government has not yet been determined. In the new Central Government, beside the Military Council, at the new board of ministers the following bodies are to be created: Committee on Finance and Economy, Committee on Culture and Enlightenment, Committee on Administration and Law (this Committee will take care of the issues of state security, internal affairs and justice), as well as the following ministries: railway transportation, agriculture, forestry, trading, metallurgy, textile, fuel, communications, post and telegraph, and so on. Comrade Mao Zedong has been marked for the position of the chairman of the Central Government [3. This is what – a president in reality?], and Com. Zhou Enlai – for the prime minister. Comrades Liu Shaoqi and Ren Bishi will not take part in the Government.

Our understanding of the character of the new democratic state and new power in China is the following:

This state is a people’s democratic dictatorship based on the union of workers and peasants under proletariat’s leadership.

The dictatorship is directed against the imperialists, feudal forces and bureaucratic capital. [4. What is “bureaucratic capital”?]

Working class is the leading force of this dictatorship. The working class, united with peasantry and revolutionary intelligentsia, constitute the main force of the dictatorship. Simultaneously, petty bourgeoisie, liberal bourgeoisie, their representatives and political groups, which are able to cooperate with us, are being involved in this dictatorship in all ways. This is how the dictatorship is organized.

The condition that people’s democratic dictatorship is not a bourgeois dictatorship, yet it is not a proletarian dictatorship either, does not need any clarification. [5. Yes!]

The people’s democratic dictatorship in China has similarities with the “democratic dictatorship of workers and peasants”, which Lenin talked about in the revolution of 1905-07. However, there is also a difference.

The leadership by the proletariat, as well as the union of workers and peasants as the base for the dictatorship, are the common points. However, people’s democratic dictatorship in China also includes representatives and political groups from liberal bourgeoisie who want to fight against the imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capital. This is where the difference lies. [5. Yes!] This circumstance is explained by the fact that China had been a semi-colonial state, and our need, during the revolution and during the prolonged period after its victory [5. Yes!], is to concentrate all might for the struggle against imperialism and its agents. It is also explained by the special feature of the Chinese national bourgeoisie. It fully corresponds to what comrade Stalin said in 1926 in his speech at the meeting of the Chinese Commission of the Executive Committee of Comintern, when he pointed out that the future revolutionary power in China will be “the power that is predominantly anti-imperialist”.

The form of the people’s democratic dictatorship in China is the regime of the assemblies of people’s representatives, which is not a form of the bourgeois parliamentary regime. It is approaching the regime of Soviets, but differs from the proletarian dictatorship in the Soviet form, [5. Yes!] because representatives of the national bourgeoisie enter the assemblies of people’s representatives.

People’s democratic dictatorship in China has its own internal and external contradictions, internal and external struggle.

The so-called external contradiction and external struggle mean that the dictatorship has contradictions with the imperialism, feudalism, bureaucratic capital, with the remains of the Guomindan forces, and must, accordingly, wage struggle against them. These contradictions remain the main contradictions and main struggle during the relatively prolonged period after the Guomindan power is toppled.

The internal contradiction and internal struggle mean that within this dictatorship, there are contradictions and struggle between various classes and various parties and groupings. In the future, these contradictions and struggle will strengthen step-by-step; however, for quite prolonged period of time they will be secondary as compared to the external contradictions. [6. Probably so!]

Some say, “after the Guomindan power is toppled, or after the agrarian reform is completed, the contradictions between proletariat and bourgeoisie will at once become the main contradictions, and the struggle between the capitalists and workers will immediately become the main struggle”. We believe that such interpretation of the issue is wrong because if the current power directs its main fire against the bourgeoisie, this would mean that it is or becoming a proletarian dictatorship, and actions of this kind will push the national bourgeoisie, [6. Collective contracts with private industrialists (strikes)], which currently can still cooperate with us, into the imperialist camp. Conducting such policy in China in current period would mean a dangerously adventurous policy. [6. Yes!] In February this year, comrade Andreyev in his conversation with Mao Zedong approved CPC’s policy of attracting the national bourgeoisie on its side, and later the Central Committee of the VKP(b) also pointed out the necessity of attracting the national bourgeoisie to our side. We fully agree with these guidelines.

After the Guomindan power is toppled, the contradictions between labour and capital will remain objectively, and they will strengthen step-by-step. As a consequence of that, the working class will have to struggle against the bourgeoisie correspondingly, and only then the interests of the working class and people’s democratic dictatorship could be protected. But in addition to that, the necessary and proper compromising agreement and united bloc with the national bourgeoisie has to be kept, in order to concentrate the forces against the external enemy, and also to overcome the backwardness of China [7. Collective contracts which exclude the possibility of strikes]. Many measures, which require quite a prolonged period of time, will have to be conducted from now and until national capital is fully nationalized. The length of this period will be determined by the various conditions of the international and internal situation. We believe that probably this business will require 10 to 15 years.

A people’s democratic dictatorship in China will unite the country. This will be a large progress for China, and the unification of China will occur under the leadership of the proletariat. However, due to China’s backwardness, underdevelopment of communications, past existence of spheres of influence of the imperialists, and the feudal fragmentation of the country, a united economic system in China has not yet formed, and therefore we are forced to give quite broad self-government rights to the local governments [7. There will be local (provincial) governments?] at present, in order to stimulate the activeness and initiative at the local level. We believe that it is unnecessary and harmful to enforce a system of excessive centralism. [Yes!*]

We would like comrade Stalin and the Central Committee of the VKP(b) to point out for us – are the views expressed above right or not?

The majority of leading figures of the Chinese democratic parties and groups have already arrived to Beiping. Such democratic parties and groups account to more than 10 in China. They are small organizations occupied with political activity. The total number of members of all these parties and groups does not exceed 30,000 people. From these, the Democratic League has 20,000 people. This League has comparatively high influence among a certain part of the intelligentsia. These parties and groups do not work among worker and peasant masses. Their organizational structure is scattered, and they do not have internal unity. For example, all these parties and groups have completely failed to submit a list of their representatives for participation in the PCC, as there is dissent between them. The lists of representatives could be prepared only where CPC expressed its opinion about the candidatures. However, every democratic party and group has several leading figures who, thanks to the fact that they have been active politically in China for a long period of time, have certain influence among the masses of the people. Their party organizations are only afloat because of these leaders. Every party and group has three categories of persons: the right, the left and the centrists.

Leftovers of Guomindanites and imperialist agents are trying to enter these democratic parties and groups in every possible way to guarantee themselves legality. On this issue, we have issued these parties and groups a serious warning. All these parties and groups are united only by fighting against Chiang Kaishi, Guomindan and imperialism. However, some of the persons belonging to them had links with imperialist elements not so long ago, and only recently they severed these links. Some of them barely share CPC’s opinion on land reform, while others reveal clearly nationalist tendencies toward the USSR. All the democratic parties and groups are officially accepting the programme worked out by the CPC and issuing official statements about their readiness to support CPC as the main leader. Except for the imperialist agents, Chiang Kaishi’s Guomindan, no other political party of the national bourgeoisie has been formed completely. In China, there are yet no such reactionary bourgeois parties that exist in European countries. [8. And what about the group of compradors?]

The mass people’s organizations which will participate in the PCC play quite a significant role in practical political life in China. Some of these organizations already have a large quantity of members, while all of these organizations attract more and more new members. In the past, these organizations played an important part in the struggle against the American imperialism and Chiang Kaishi. In the future, they will play yet a more important role. The majority of these organizations perceive CPC’s leadership or is fully under the leadership by the CPC. Apart from the recently created All-China General Association of Trade Unions, the congress meetings of representatives of women’s, students’ and youth organizations have taken place recently. The ones that have been created are: All-China Democratic Association of Women, Union of New Democracy Youth, All-China Student Association. Because the Chinese youth had many of their own organizations in the past, they have been united into local and All-China Youth Associations, which temporarily serve the business of unifying the youth movement. Guomindan trade unions, youth organizations, the Youth Union of the three people’s principles of Sun Yatsen, and Guomindan women’s’ organizations - are all now, after Guomindan’s defeat, already illegal, and they are falling apart very quickly, while their leaders have either escaped or ceased any activity. Some progressive elements from these organizations attached themselves to CPC in the period when Guomindan was not yet defeated. The Chinese labour federation headed by Zhu Xuefan is leading a certain part of the working masses, but it has already merged with the All-China General Association of Trade Unions.

In February this year, we received the directive of the VKP(b) about strengthening the work among workers, government service personnel, youth and women. We agree with these directives. At present, the work has been developed on a large scale in all the cities, but due to the prolonged break in this work, cadres for this work have yet to be reproduced. Now, every organization has schools for preparing the cadres, holding several hundred to several thousand course participants.

So, there is still no opportunity to strengthen this work too quickly. We would like several experienced Soviet comrades to come to China to help us in this work*.

In the nearest future, all-China congressional meetings of cultural, enlightenment and science workers will be called upon in Beiping, where their own all-China organizations will be formed. They will be under the leadership of CP

3. THE EXTERNAL RELATIONS ISSUES.

We fully agree with the recent directions by the Central Committee of the VKP(b) on external political issues, on external trade and borrowing.

At present, after the imperialists suffered a defeat of their policy of full support of Guomindan in its struggle  against the Chinese revolution, they use the following methods to continue their struggle against the Chinese revolution:

We see these imperialists’ plans clearly, and we have sufficient experience of countering them. We will not allow, in any possible case, these plans to materialize. On all of these issues, we have already warned the democratic parties and groups, and we have mobilized vigilance of the people.

Chinese revolution must destroy the dominance of the imperialists in China in a cohesive way in its military, political, economic, and cultural aspects. This position has been recorded in the decisions of the 2nd Plenum of the CC CPC and remains unshakable. At present, in the regions seized by our troops – just after downfall of Guomindan – the liquidation of military and political dominance of the imperialists occurs immediately. Their economic and cultural influence is also weakened considerably. However, economic enterprises and cultural institutions, which are still under direct control by the imperialists, still remain. Their diplomatic workers and correspondents remain. The question of tactics and methods of dealing with all these issues requires attention.

We think that at present and in the future we will have to adhere to the following principles in our foreign policy work*:

We do not have recent data on imperialist countries’ capital investments into China. According to Japanese data of the year 1936, England, the U.S., France, Germany, Italy and Belgium had capital investments that summed up to 1.828 billion USD. From this sum, 1 billion belonged to England, 220 million to the U.S., 210 to Germany and Italy, railway and political loans accounted to 500 million, [Of those?] 450 million USD were invested in foreign banks and financial institutions, 380 million in import-export trade, and 360 million in mining and other industries. However, after Japan was defeated, capital investments by Japan, Germany and Italy into China were confiscated*. [10. By whom?] England, France and Belgium have had certain losses of their investments in China, while capital investments by the U.S. have somewhat increased.

At present, foreign states have the following enterprises in China: banks, insurance societies, export-import offices, ocean ships, piers and warehouses. The companies in the Kaylan coal mines, which produce 4 million tons of coal annually, and in which half of the capital belongs to England, the English tobacco factories in Tianjin and Shanghai, the American power plant in Shanghai, and some communal enterprises have relatively high level of significance. Other foreign enterprises in China do not have large significance. Similarly, the manufacturing and mining enterprises in China, which are under direct control by the imperialists, do not have much significance anymore. While implementing certain necessary restrictions [11. What restrictions?], at present we do not rule out further functioning of the imperialists’ economic enterprises in China* in general. However, certain imperialists have already transferred their active capital out of China, or are in a position of passive waiting and observation. We do not yet have a decision as to when and how to resolve the issue of capital investments by the imperialists in China: whether to confiscate them or do some other way. Now we are too busy with military matters and other work, and we have not proceeded to resolving this question yet. Nevertheless, it is necessary for us to prepare to resolve it.

[2] Imperialist countries have their own propaganda organs and cultural institutions in China. According to the old data that we have at our disposal, apart from newspapers, magazines, and telegraph agencies, England and the U.S. alone have 31 university and specialized schools, 32 religious study institutions, 29 libraries, 26 cultural organizations, 324 middle schools, 2,364 primary schools, 3,729 religious missions, 93 religious organizations, 147 hospitals, 53 charities.

Central Committee of the CPC has already decided to cease publishing activity of the previously existing foreign newspapers, magazines, telegraph agencies, and the activity by the foreign journalists, and this decision is being implemented by local authorities. Considering that the imperialists hold several facilities in Shanghai, which are very important economically, the CC CPC has endorsed the proposal by our Shanghai comrades to temporarily abstain from implementing the above decision, but we are still preparing to implement it in the future. As for the schools and hospitals run by imperialist countries in China, we still do not rule out that their activity is continued, provided they abide by our laws, yet we will not allow them to open new schools and hospitals in China. In the future, when we are ready to take these educational institutions and hospitals over, we will take them under our management.

We recognize continuing of the work of foreign religious organisations provided they will comply with our laws but at the same time we conduct anti-religion propaganda. Lands of religious missions and churches we confiscate and redistribute them with believer’s consent* [12. Yes]. Land of other foreign organisations we also confiscate and redistribute.

We do not recognize the diplomatic personnel of foreign states in China, and we treat them as foreign residents. As a result of conducting such policy, the people understand that China has already risen up, and the CPC does not fear the imperialists.

Besides, this gives us an opportunity to avoid much trouble, as the members of democratic parties and groups do not dare to keep in touch and meet with diplomatic personnel from imperialist countries, and even the common folk do not dare to do so.

Diplomatic workers from imperialist countries address us everywhere in China and try to make contacts with us to obtain de-facto recognition from us. No one in Chinese history has dared to implement such policy that we conduct at this time with respect to foreigners, but as a result of our implementing it, many foreign residents, experiencing various concerns, are themselves asking us to allow them to leave China. At the same time, we always feel somewhat uncomfortable in connection with this.

There are about 120,000 foreign residents on the liberated Chinese territory, of whom only in Shanghai there are about 65,000. 54,000 foreigners live in Manchuria, most of whom are Soviet citizens, with the Japanese being second in number.

After the new central government is formed, the question of establishing official diplomatic relationships with foreign states and our participation in the U.N. and other international organizations and conferences will arise immediately. There is possibility that for a certain period of time the imperialist states will ignore us, or put forward conditions that would ties us up, in exchange for their recognizing us. What should our policy be in this respect?

[13. Differentiated. Whoever does not recognize Chinese government, is also not to be given any ease on trading with China (the crisis in the U.S. will force the U.S. to value and cherish their trade with China). To use Chinese merchants for this.] We, of course, would not agree with the conditions that would restrict our actions, but should we undertake active measures to ensure recognition by these states in order to get into a legal position to conduct international activity? On the other hand, should not we wait rather than hurry to secure recognition [14. Yes. Better not to hurry]  by these states, and occupy ourselves with cleansing our internal front for the purpose of avoiding trouble? [Yes!] After the new government is formed, will the USSR and the countries of New Democracy be able to [Yes] recognize the new government sooner rather than later [15. Yes] even if the imperialist states ignore us in their politics? If the imperialist countries choose the road of recognizing the new government of China, then in such case we are going to establish diplomatic relations with these countries, and then we would wish that the USSR could recognize us earlier than these states.

We are going to reconsider every treaty and every agreement reached by the Guomindan government with foreign states. With this in mind, we will adhere to the following principle: we are ready to recognize and accept for further implementation all the agreements which are in the interests of the Chinese people, peace and democracy in the whole world, for example, the UN Statute, the Cairo Declaration, the Treaty of Friendship and Union between China and the USSR. As for all the treaties which are detrimental to the interests of the Chinese People, peace and democracy in the whole world, we are prepared to liquidate them: for example, the Treaty of Trade and Maritime Communication between China and the USA* [Yes.] We are going to recognize some treaties after the corresponding amendments are made to them.

Upon recognition of new China by foreign states, we are going to participate in the UN and other international organizations, particularly within the various international organizations which have to do with Japan. [16. Yes!*] In our international politics we will, without doubt, unite with the USSR, and certain clarification for the democratic parties and groups have been made by us in this respect. Some non-partisans had criticized our politics for “leaning on the side of the USSR only”, but comrade Mao Zedong replied to them that our politics will precisely lean upon the side of the USSR only, because if we do not stand with the USSR in the struggle against the imperialist front and try to follow the middle path instead, this will be an error. After such clarifications, all democratic parties and groups, together with the CPC, signed and published a declaration against the North Atlantic Pact.

We would like to receive VKPB’s and comrade Stalin’s directive on various foreign policy issues. [Siс]

RGASPI. F. 558. Op. 11. D. 328.  L. 32-50.

Original typewritten text, notes on the margins and underlined text by I.V. Stalin.

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