Chapter 25 Chapter 7 Strategies and Strategies - A Major Breakthrough in the Republic's Diplomacy

After the "Cultural Revolution" broke out in 1966, domestic and foreign affairs departments, like other departments, were severely disturbed and impacted.According to the instructions of the central government, two-thirds of the staff of embassies abroad returned home to participate in the "movement".Since then, almost all Chinese ambassadors abroad have left their posts and returned home one after another, and the entire foreign affairs work has come to a standstill. In the spring and summer of 1967, with the intensification of the domestic situation of "overthrowing everything" and "comprehensive seizure of power", ultra-left ideological trends were unprecedentedly rampant, and foreign work fell into an "extraordinary period": On the one hand, China had established diplomatic relations with Asia, Africa, and Europe. Frequent diplomatic conflicts occurred in more than a dozen countries on the continent, leading to tense bilateral relations;In particular, the serious incidents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' "seizure of power" and "three smashes and one burn" (that is, smashing the Indonesian, Burmese and Indian embassies in China, and burning the British agency in China) that occurred in Beijing during this period have brought serious consequences to the Chinese party and government. The reputation of the company has caused huge damage and caused extremely bad effects.At this time, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai took decisive measures against several "ultra-left" figures in the Central Cultural Revolution Group who were instigating turmoil, preventing the situation from deteriorating further. Criticize and rectify the diplomatic team so that the foreign affairs work can get on the right track as soon as possible.Even so, affected by various domestic factors, the Chinese government is still struggling with foreign relations and cannot be optimistic.

On the afternoon of June 10, 1969, Pakistani Ambassador to China Kar Mu Kayser, who had just arrived in his post, was received by Zhou Enlai in the Jiangsu Hall of the Great Hall of the People.Ambassador Kaiser forwarded a letter from President Yahya, inviting Zhou Enlai to visit neighboring Pakistan again.In this regard, Zhou Enlai replied: Several countries have asked me when they can go abroad for visits, but due to our busy domestic affairs, we cannot visit abroad at present.Many friendly countries have forgiven us.Regarding the timing of the visit to Pakistan, it is impossible before the National Day, and it is hard to say whether it will be possible this winter.I'm afraid it won't work out this year.If I want to visit abroad within this year, I will go to your place first.

The last time Zhou Enlai visited Pakistan was in the summer of 1966 at the beginning of the "Cultural Revolution" three years ago. In the past three years, as an outstanding diplomat recognized by the world, he has never taken a step abroad.At the same time, the number of foreign leaders visiting China has also been greatly reduced. During the year of 1969, Zhou Enlai failed to arrange a formal visit except for a half-day trip to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, to commemorate his old comrade-in-arms Ho Chi Minh. Despite this very abnormal situation, Zhou Enlai still kept a close eye on the changes in the world, and engaged in some preparatory work for the redevelopment of foreign relations with foresight, such as: rectifying the foreign affairs team, retaining and cultivating foreign language talents, and thinking about international strategies major issues, etc.

After China's diplomatic envoys were recalled in early 1967, they have not been sent again.Except for Huang Hua, the ambassador to Egypt, the ambassadors of other countries are all vacant.In order to change this situation, Zhou Enlai seized the opportunity when the domestic political situation was relatively stable after the Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and took an important step in resuming normal diplomatic work in due course.Just a few days before meeting with Ambassador Kaiser, he dispatched Geng Biao, Wang Youping, Huang Zhen and other ambassadors to Albania, Vietnam and France to take office respectively.This is the first group of ambassadors to be appointed or re-going abroad since the "Cultural Revolution".In less than two months, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has arranged for more than a dozen ambassadors abroad to return or take up their posts. On June 4, when Zhou Enlai received Geng Biao and other upcoming ambassadors, he said with confidence about the future: The situation is optimistic, but we must be prepared for twists and turns.Diplomatic work must be proactive, and embassies must take investigation and research work as an important task, so as to "have the overall situation in mind and model in hand".Diplomatic personnel should be educated to be modest, prudent and simple, neither overbearing nor humble.In view of the fact that during the "Cultural Revolution" some overseas institutions were affected by the spread of ultra-left thoughts and adopted some imposing methods in external propaganda, Zhou Enlai especially emphasized that we must be good at external propaganda and be cautious.

In addition, Zhou Enlai also considered how to acquire and retain a group of foreign language talents trained before the "Cultural Revolution".Since the training of foreign language professionals cannot achieve results in a short period of time, on this issue, Zhou Enlai not only foresaw the need for the development of foreign exchanges in the future, but also tried every means to formulate specific measures to preserve the existing talents.According to the former Deputy Secretary-General of the Foreign Affairs Office of the State Council, Marxism-Leninism recalled: In 1969, several offices of the State Council, including the foreign affairs office, were abolished, and the staff of these institutions were transferred to the "May 7th" cadre school to work.I did not go down, and was entrusted by the Prime Minister to be in charge of the management of graduates from several foreign language colleges.At that time, there were more than 6,000 graduates and students in the foreign language departments of the central government and key universities in more than 40 languages.At that time, the Prime Minister saw far and thought deeply.Considering the development of foreign affairs in the future, he instructed that this batch of foreign language talents should never be dispersed after graduation, and they should be centralized and waited for distribution.At that time, college graduates had to receive re-education from workers, peasants and soldiers. I contacted the general staff, and they were first accepted by the army farm, and they worked while receiving re-education.The Prime Minister also repeatedly took care not to waste the foreign language learning of this group of students, and asked to arrange the time for foreign language reading every day, and finally established a system of half-day labor and half-day study.

At the same time, Zhou Enlai also proposed that old translators who were considered to have "problems" of one kind or another should be "used as appropriate" and agreed that relevant departments would select a group of translators from the 1966 graduates of foreign language schools across the country and the 1964 overseas students to the Work in the Foreign Office.He instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Liaison Department of the Central Committee, the State Administration of Foreign Languages, the Foreign Economic and Trade Commission, and the Ministry of Foreign Trade, to investigate and register foreign affairs and translators in various central departments, and propose measures to strengthen management.

In November 1970, Zhou Enlai had five consecutive discussions with relevant persons in charge and teacher representatives of Beijing Foreign Language Institutes on the issue of foreign language teaching. Too far!Foreign language teaching must first start with teachers, and carry out research and improvement in accordance with the laws of foreign language teaching.He also said: To cultivate high-quality foreign language talents must practice hard basic skills, including political thought, language itself and various cultural knowledge.Otherwise, it is to mislead the younger generation.In the same year, Zhou Enlai also instructed Beijing Foreign Studies University to resume enrollment.In June of the following year, he personally approved the hospital's plan to enroll 800 new students.

More importantly, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, as the top decision makers of the internal and external policies of the party and the country, also appointed several "senior counselors" at the right time to make realistic judgments on the current international situation. Correct assessment of the international situation is originally the basis for the party to formulate diplomatic work guidelines and strategic strategies.However, before and after the Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the whole country was shrouded in an atmosphere of "preparation for war", so it was impossible to analyze the general situation of the world with a calm and objective mind.Under such circumstances, Zhou Enlai, in accordance with Mao Zedong's intention, assigned the task of studying international issues to four veterans who were "standing aside": Chen Yi, Ye Jianying, Xu Xiangqian, and Nie Rongzhen, who formed the "International Issues" under the responsibility of Chen Yi. research team".Beforehand, Zhou Enlai explained to the veterans the extreme importance of this task:

The reason why the chairman entrusted you with this task is because the chairman believes that there is still a need to continue research.The chairman's consistent thinking is that subjective understanding should strive to conform to objective reality. As objective reality continues to develop and change, subjective understanding should also change with development. Some or even all of the original views and conclusions should be revised in a timely manner, so you should not be " frame".Now the international struggle is sharp and complicated, and all departments concentrate on "struggling, criticizing, and reforming", which can only deal with "outlets"; most of the cadres who are familiar with international issues have not yet been liberated. I am busy with daily work all day long, and I really can't make time Carefully consider the world's major events.The chairman did not ask you to return to your original posts. Except for "staying", you can not be disturbed by administrative affairs, and you have a few days a week to concentrate on considering the international situation.You are all marshals with strategic vision, and you can assist the chairman in grasping strategic trends for his reference.This task is very important, don't take it lightly.With a mature opinion on a topic, a written report can be written and submitted.

Later, according to Zhou Enlai's opinion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs selected Xiong Xianghui and Yao Guang to assist the four veterans in this work.A month later, the written report "Preliminary Estimation of the War Situation" signed by Chen Yi and four others was delivered to Zhou Enlai's desk.The report analyzed in detail "the struggle between the three major powers of China, the United States, and the Soviet Union", and believed that a war against China would not easily happen at present.Starting from this fundamental judgment, the report outlines an international strategic pattern in which China, the United States, and the Soviet Union check and balance each other.On the second day after receiving the report, Zhou Enlai immediately criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: For diplomatic documents, "four old comrades who study international issues should be distributed: Ye Jianying, Chen Yi, Xu Xiangqian, and Nie Rongzhen."

In the following period of time, during the period of "labor exercise" in the decentralized factories, Chen Yi and the other four veterans continued to write high-quality articles on the general situation at home and abroad with an attitude of being extremely responsible to the party and the country, proceeding from the reality of China and the world. analysis report.The tone of these reports is very different from the nine political reports, especially Lin Biao and others' views on the situation.Later facts proved that the views of Chen Yi and other veterans were objective and far-sighted.This provided an indispensable reference for Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai to "grasp the strategic trend" and formulate foreign policies that conform to the actual situation. At the beginning of September 1969, Chairman Ho Chi Minh, the supreme leader of the Vietnamese party and state and Zhou Enlai's old comrade-in-arms, died of illness in Hanoi.The next day, Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying led the Chinese party and government delegation to Hanoi to express their condolences before the funeral, and returned to Beijing that night.At this time, some foreign media speculated that Zhou Enlai did this to avoid meeting with the Soviet leader Kosygin who attended Ho Chi Minh's funeral on the 9th.In fact, China has always advocated the holding of diplomatic negotiations between China and the Soviet Union in order to solve the problems existing in the relations between the two countries.In the spring of this year, the Sino-Soviet border guards had an armed conflict in the Zhenbao Island area of ​​Heilongjiang Province, China. For a time, the war was clouded and the relationship between the two countries fell to the lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic relations. On March 21, Kosygin, chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, tried to have a direct phone call with Chinese leaders to discuss the relationship between the two countries.Later, the charge d'affaires ad interim of the Soviet embassy in China also said that they "have something to convey" to the Chinese side.To this end, Zhou Enlai and relevant parties drew up a memorandum to reply to the Soviet side, which stated: "From the perspective of the current Sino-Soviet relationship, it is no longer applicable to communicate by telephone. If the Soviet government has anything to say , please formally propose to the Chinese government through diplomatic channels.” This actually opened the door to diplomatic negotiations with the Soviet government.After Ho Chi Minh's funeral, Kosygin proposed to the Chinese side through Vietnam that he hoped to meet with Zhou Enlai, and the Chinese side quickly agreed. On the morning of September 11, Kosygin arrived at Beijing Airport.In the tense atmosphere of preparations for war between China and the Soviet Union, the prime ministers of the two countries held an unusual three-and-a-half-hour meeting at the airport.During the talks, the leaders of both sides still referred to each other as "comrade" and sent greetings.This is in subtle contrast to the tense hostility between the two sides since the Zhenbao Island conflict.In view of the reality that the Soviet Union was pressing down heavily on the border, and even threatened to carry out nuclear strikes, Zhou Enlai said straight to the point: "You said that you would use pre-emptive means to destroy our nuclear bases. If you do this, we will declare that this is war , This is aggression, and we must resolutely resist to the end." Kosygin was speechless for a moment.While solemnly proclaiming that the Chinese government and people would never yield to any external pressure, Zhou Enlai reiterated China's willingness to resolve border disputes through diplomatic negotiations.He said earnestly: "We can't handle our own domestic affairs now, so why are we fighting?" He advocated that the disputes between the two parties in China and the Soviet Union should not affect the national relations between the two countries, and should not hinder the national relations of the two countries. normalization of the relationship.In this way, after candid exchanges of views, the prime ministers of the two countries jointly reached an understanding on maintaining the status quo of the border and avoiding new armed conflicts; Consensus was reached on some specific issues to ease tensions between the two countries. The talks and understanding reached by the prime ministers of China and the Soviet Union were an important turning point in the breakup of Sino-Soviet relations since the 1960s, especially after the armed border conflicts in 1969 brought the relations between the two countries to the "trough".As a direct result, negotiations on the Sino-Soviet border issue began in Beijing in October of the same year.Although the negotiations lasted for many years and the results were not great, after all, the two sides that had been at war with each other sat at the negotiating table after all.Zhou Enlai, who has always paid attention to and guided the negotiation process, has repeatedly explained to the Chinese delegation: to ease border tensions, resolve border issues, and restore good-neighborly relations, this is our policy. From then on, Zhou Enlai also focused on dealing with relations with other neighboring countries, and made unremitting efforts to restore or stabilize the good-neighborly and friendly relations between China and these countries. In January 1970, Zhou Enlai sent a letter to Mao Zedong, suggesting that Guo Moruo should go to Nepal as a special envoy to attend the wedding of Prince Birendra. At the same time, he also proposed preliminary arrangements for the recent visit to North Korea and other neighboring countries. On March 18, a military coup supported by the United States took place in Cambodia. The Lon Nol military group took the opportunity of Prince Sihanouk's visit abroad to overthrow the Royal Government and announced the abolition of Sihanouk, the head of state who was abroad.The next day, Prince Sihanouk and his wife arrived in Beijing from Moscow, and Zhou Enlai personally greeted them at the airport.He said to Sihanouk in person: China is determined to support the prince until the prince returns home victorious.Since then, the Chinese government has consistently stood on the side of the Cambodian National United Front headed by Prince Sihanouk and the Royal National Unity Government under its leadership, and fully supported the "three countries and four parties" in Indochina (that is, Cambodia, Laos, the Republic of South Vietnam, the Republic of South Vietnam, The people of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam jointly carried out the struggle to resist the United States and save the country. In early April, Zhou Enlai was invited to visit North Korea.This is his first official visit abroad in four years.During his stay in North Korea, Zhou Enlai, Kim Il Sung and other North Korean party and government leaders exchanged views extensively on issues such as the international and Asian regional situation, and the relationship between the two parties and countries between China and North Korea.The once indifferent relationship between China and North Korea has been transformed. In late June, Zhou Enlai called Mrs. Hartini Sukarno to express his condolences on the death of former Indonesian President Sukarno.The message of condolence also spoke highly of Sukarno, who led the Indonesian people to fight for national independence and promoted the unity of the Asian and African people against imperialism.This is an important move by Chinese leaders since China and India broke off diplomatic relations in 1967. In mid-November, Pakistani President Yahya Khan paid a state visit to China.During the talks with President Yahya, Zhou Enlai fully affirmed the friendly and cooperative relations between China and Pakistan in the past 10 years, and praised Pakistan's principled stand for upholding justice at the UN General Assembly and demanding the restoration of all legal seats of the People's Republic of China in the UN.Yahya expressed his willingness to help China and the United States get in touch.In the process of opening the door to Sino-US relations in the future, the Pakistani government played a particularly important role. In August of the following year, the Chairman of the Union of Myanmar and Prime Minister Ne Win visited China and exchanged views with Zhou Enlai on the restoration and development of bilateral relations.Ne Win expressed "deep regret" over the unfortunate incident in the relations between the two countries in 1967, and thanked Premier Zhou for giving him the opportunity to come and explain possible misunderstandings between the two countries.Zhou Enlai replied frankly: "We did not agree with some of the radical actions of the overseas Chinese students in Yangon at that time." Relationship".During the talks, Ne Win was deeply moved by Zhou Enlai's attitude of understanding and respect for the Burmese side.Sino-Myanmar relations have since returned to normal. In less than two years, China has resumed friendly relations or normal exchanges with most neighboring countries, and the surrounding environment of New China has improved significantly compared with 1967, when extreme leftism was rampant.The formation of this situation not only enables the main leaders of the party and the country to have more energy to deal with complicated domestic affairs, but also creates very favorable conditions for further opening up a new diplomatic pattern.