Chapter 26 Confrontation and Contest - Deng Xiaoping and Khrushchev (3)

Deng Xiaoping again went to Moscow to fight against Khrushchev.Mao Zedong led all the leaders of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to greet the triumphant return in person at the airport. In November 1960, Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqi together led a delegation of the Communist Party of China to Moscow to attend the 81-country Communist Party and Workers' Party Conference.On the eve of the meeting, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union distributed a 60,000-word letter attacking the CCP, which led to sharp debates at the beginning of the meeting. In the spirit of mutual understanding, mutual accommodation and consideration of the overall situation, the CCP delegation did various work at the meeting, which made the CPSU also adopt an attitude of coordination and compromise.In the end, the meeting passed the "Statement of the Conference of Representatives of the Communist Party and Workers' Parties of All Countries", the contradiction between China and the Soviet Union was eased, and a turning point appeared to improve the relationship.After the meeting, Liu Shaoqi visited the Soviet Union as the president of the country at the invitation of the Soviet Union, and Deng Xiaoping led a delegation back to China.

In January 1961, at the Ninth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Deng Xiaoping made a report on the meeting of representatives of the Communist Party and Workers' Parties in various countries. In October 1961, the CPSU held its 22nd National Congress, and Zhou Enlai led the CCP delegation to attend the meeting.At the meeting, Khrushchev publicly attacked the Albanian Labor Party, which Zhou Enlai criticized in his speech.But under the instigation of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Zhou Enlai was besieged.For this reason, Zhou Enlai withdrew from the meeting angrily and returned home early.Sino-Soviet relations deteriorated again.

Between April and May of 1962, the Soviet Union carried out subversive activities in the Ili and Tacheng areas of Xinjiang, China; in October, the Chinese army fought back in self-defense against India's invasion of China.At the same time, the Soviet Union and the United States were negotiating on banning nuclear tests and preventing nuclear proliferation in an attempt to prohibit China from developing nuclear weapons.Under such circumstances, from December 1962 to March 1963, the CCP published 8 articles to defend some previous accusations made by the CPSU. On March 30, 1963, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union issued an open letter to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, attacking the Communist Party of China on many issues. On June 14, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a reply letter entitled "Suggestions on the General Line of the International Communist Movement" (referred to as "Twenty-Five Points") to refute the Soviet Communist Party's attack.Since then, the Soviet Union has used various methods to attack the CCP by name and name, and unreasonably expelled five staff members of the Chinese embassy in the Soviet Union and graduate students studying in the Soviet Union.

At 10:30 am on July 5, 1963, Deng Xiaoping led a delegation of the Communist Party of China to Moscow to hold high-level talks with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union held a welcome banquet in the Kremlin, and Khrushchev also attended in person.Of course, like the previous few times, the atmosphere at the banquet was still full of gunpowder.Li Yueran was the translator at the time, and he has detailed memories and accounts of this meeting: When toasting, Khrushchev said: "We still hope that the two parties can eliminate their differences. The Soviet Communist Party has made its own efforts, and we have friendly feelings towards the Chinese Communist Party."

Deng Xiaoping said with a solemn expression: "We also come here with the desire for unity and friendship. We sincerely hope to eliminate differences." Khrushchev immediately declared: "The line of the CPSU's 20th, 21st, and 22nd Congresses is correct, and we will continue to adhere to it." The message is clear: to resolve differences and to achieve unity can only be achieved if you accept our point of view. Deng Xiaoping shook his head and said: "Even if the differences cannot be eliminated for a while, we can still keep our respective views, and don't continue to expand ideological differences to the relationship between the two countries."

Khrushchev was a little anxious and spoke quickly: "At least we should stop attacking each other in the press." Deng Xiaoping clearly pointed out: "You have published a letter to all party members. You have attacked us one-sidedly. It is enough. We will not attack! We will not use offensive words. But we have not expressed our attitude yet. We must express our attitude and express our attitude at an appropriate time. Attitude." He smiled slightly and repeated, "We will express our attitude and let all members of the two parties understand the views of both sides."

Khrushchev slammed the knife on the plate: "If we want to unite, we must stop arguing with each other!" Deng Xiaoping went on to say: "Stopping the debate is a suggestion put forward by the Communist Party of China long ago. You have not paid attention to it, and have not accepted our correct opinions. In fact, you have been attacking us all the time. Until now, you have not stopped this kind of attack. What we should answer is always answer." The confrontation at the banquet is like this, let alone the formal talks. The result of the talks is also conceivable --- there is no result.The talks will continue next time, and the time and place will be agreed upon by the Chinese and Soviet parties.

What Deng Xiaoping left for Khrushchev was still "this little guy is powerful and difficult to deal with." The talks started on July 6, and nine consecutive meetings were held.The two delegations will take turns to speak, one person at a time. On July 14, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union violated the agreement reached by the two sides not to release news of the talks during the talks, and publicly published the "Open Letter to Party Organizations at All Levels of the Soviet Union and All Communist Party Members", criticizing the "Twenty-Five Points" of the CCP one by one.Seriously damaged the atmosphere of the talks.Under these circumstances, the talks were terminated prematurely as no progress could be made.

On July 20, at the last meeting, Deng Xiaoping solemnly pointed out: "Our party has always advocated that the differences between fraternal parties should not be made public in front of the enemy, but since open debates have been provoked, they should be resolved on the basis of equality. We have never been compelled to attack any other party first. We cannot fail to answer when we are attacked." On the afternoon of July 21, 1963, Deng Xiaoping and his party returned to Beijing. Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Dong Biwu and other party and state leaders all went to the airport to greet Deng Xiaoping and all comrades in the delegation.When Deng Xiaoping got off the plane, Mao Zedong stepped forward to greet him with a cordial handshake.

It is said that this was one of only two times that Mao Zedong personally went to the airport to greet the returning party and state leaders.It can be seen that Mao Zedong was satisfied with and appreciated Deng Xiaoping's struggle with the Soviet Union.Later, Mao Zedong praised Deng Xiaoping for "handling the Soviets in a way" on many occasions. German historical writer Uli Franz described the confrontation and contest between Deng Xiaoping and Khrushchev in his monograph: Those who know the inside story will never be surprised that Deng Xiaoping criticized the Soviet Union realistically, but sharply.However, very few of the participants in the host country thought this was an internal matter of China.They had never before heard public criticism of the powerful Soviet Communist Party from the mouth of the Chinese, but a few Khrushchev followers in Bucharest had heard of criticism of China.

Deng handled the attack on Lenin's party with considerable tact.He had carefully chosen a wide-ranging congress for himself: here, at the Second Moscow International Conference of the Communist Party, he launched an attack on the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for siding with India in the Sino-Indian border conflict.Deng said in his speech, "There has never been a socialist country in history that has cursed a fraternal socialist country instead of condemning the armed provocations of the reactionaries in capitalist countries." Words to answer.It was only when border clashes broke out again on November 20 that he reacted, calling the incident "unfortunate and stupid". Since he had always harbored the desire for reconciliation, Deng euphemistically criticized the Soviet Union's betrayal of China's economic construction.He found "Khrushchev's glorification of Eisenhower and other imperialists" inexcusable.The stubborn peasant leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union swallowed Deng Xiaoping's harsh words like a bitter pill.He was uncharacteristically genial.He still looks like a miner when he's resting.In order for reporters to take pictures, he put his hands on the shoulders of the tall Liu Shaoqi and the short Deng Xiaoping on crutches, as if among the old comrades. From the mouth of General Secretary Deng Xiaoping, the powerful socialist camp learned of the current state of brotherly relations between Moscow and Beijing.In consultation with Mao and the Politburo, he sowed the seeds of a split in the international communist movement.In order to praise this "merit", the party chairman personally went to the airport to welcome the returning delegation on December 9. Deng came to the fore as a great "anti-revisionist".It was also he who went to the microphone at the Ninth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in January 1961 to report on the situation in Moscow.This time he agreed with Mao and the Politburo again, and rejected the muddy point of view.According to the gist of his speech, the Chinese Communist Party did not want to intensify the conflict, but first waited for the upcoming 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. However, Khrushchev accelerated the debate between the two largest communist parties in the world and attacked the Chinese fraternal parties so violently that Premier Zhou Enlai quit the Soviet Communist Party Congress in protest.Deng Xiaoping was in Beijing this time observing the course of events.To the Chinese people's regret, Khrushchev declared his party's hegemony in the international communist movement at this party congress, praising the new party program as the continuation of Marxism-Leninism: "We can proudly tell What is communism, 'read our party program'!" The Chinese thought this was too arrogant.They are not bound by others, and strive for the independence of the country and the independence of the party.At this time, Mao put forward the slogan of "self-reliance", which is not accidental. Despite many disputes, the Chinese Communist Party in 1961 only criticized the Soviet Communist Party for its "individual revisionist mistakes."Chinese comrades have always admired the great economic development of neighboring countries in the north. In September, when Deng Xiaoping participated in the Fourth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, he praised the Soviet Union's economic construction as "a powerful proof of the superiority of the socialist system."At the same time, he has different views on the general applicability of the new party program of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and believes that this party program can only be applied to other communist countries to a limited extent.Relatedly, China's sharp critique of revisionism has focused on politics to the near exclusion of economics, which is particularly striking.Whether it is China's internal or external policies, the separation of the economic base from the superstructure has since become more and more obvious. Although the Chinese publicly criticized Khrushchev by name in 1963, on February 27 they received a sincere invitation from the Russians to come to Moscow for talks. On March 7, Deng notified the Soviet ambassador in Beijing in his capacity as general secretary that China was ready to hold talks with the Soviet Union on "important issues of the international communist movement."In another letter, Zhou Enlai informed the Kremlin that Deng would lead a delegation from the Chinese Communist Party. During this period, Beijing was rapidly preparing for the next round of debate with the Soviet Communist Party.According to the instructions of the Politburo, Deng's secretariat began to draw up the thesis, which was later titled "Suggestions on the General Line of the International Communist Movement" and was used as a weapon in the debate on the general line of the International Communist Movement. If Mao's political secretary is to be believed, the proposal, dated June 14, 1963, came not from Deng, but from the great Chairman Mao himself.The new theses were published in the party newspaper People's Daily as an open letter to the Soviet people.This 58-page open letter begins with "Dear Comrades" and ends with "Salute to Communism".It expressed China's desire to end the debate and to reunite the international communist movement on a new basis. While Deng was packing his luggage, the Soviet Union deported five Chinese who had distributed open letters on Soviet soil.Accompanied by Peng Zhen, the mayor of Beijing, Kang Sheng, the chief of secret affairs, Yang Shangkun, the last member of the "Twenty-eight Bolsheviks", and three other experts on the Soviet Union, the general secretary set off. At this time, dark clouds were gathering over Moscow. The Russians started their provocations even at the Moscow airport.The Chinese Air Force plane had to wait for hours at the airport as a high-level British and American delegation arrived at the same time.Maybe a coincidence?Maybe it was intentional?But in any case, Khrushchev's full attention in the next two weeks must be on the British and American delegations, not on the Chinese. On July 5, an ideological debate began between two experienced general secretaries, Deng Xiaoping and Suslov.On the very first day, Russian thinkers offered tempting terms: the Communist Party of the Soviet Union announced its readiness to cease public debate, to Re-send construction experts, expand bilateral trade, and restart negotiations on disputed areas on the Sino-Soviet border. Since the minutes of the talks have hitherto lain like military secrets in the steel safes of both parties, we have had to rely on Soviet word of mouth.According to this statement, the Chinese were very stubborn and arrogant throughout the negotiations.It is said that Deng read out the Chinese discussion draft written in Beijing, but did not answer Suslov's impulsive rebuttal.Arguments such as a peaceful road to socialism without proletarian revolution were dismissed by Deng bluntly as "empty words."The general impression of the Soviets is that the Chinese seem to be proud of their "pure thoughts". Of course, the Chinese Communists expressed their views through constructive suggestions.In order to return to the harmonious atmosphere of Lenin's Comintern, Deng proposed to convene an international congress of all Communist parties.Clever Sichuanese demand that the number of representatives be determined according to the size of the party and the size of the population.Was the uncompromising negotiator trying to infuriate his opponent with feigned naivety and set a trap for Suslov?The Soviets are getting more and more annoyed by the intransigence of the Chinese every day. Behind the locked door, the two sides are fighting back and forth at the negotiating table, and outside, the propaganda machines of the two parties are arguing. On July 14, exactly one month after the Chinese published their open letter, the Soviets came to their senses and released their open letter.The letter appealed to people for "Soviet patriotism" and "human fraternity".They were so angry that, like purely preaching preachers, they said that the Chinese dared to attack "the party of the great Lenin, the country of origin of communism, and the first people in the world to carry out the communist revolution."At the same time, there was a huge anti-Chinese wave throughout the Soviet Union, whether it was a factory rally or a mass meeting. On July 19, Khrushchev and Hungarian Prime Minister Kadar attended a mass rally in Moscow, and he personally took over the attacking spear.The Chinese delegation was quite surprised by the party leader's sudden involvement in the debate, because he had asked for an apology shortly after Deng's arrival in the Soviet Union. Arguing with the tough Chinese is purely about line, and the Kremlin chief has more important things to do.A few houses away, he and Foreign Minister Gromyko were negotiating a nuclear-test-stop treaty with A. W. Harriman, the U.S. presidential special envoy, and Lord Helsham, the British government representative.This treaty also involves China's interests.Signatories of the treaty are obliged to: stop nuclear testing in the atmosphere and outer space, on land and in water; not send nuclear weapons to third countries. Less than 24 hours after Khrushchev attended an anti-China rally on Red Square, Suslov and Deng broke off their deadlocked talks.The brief statement in the communique is: Postponed indefinitely.Finally, the frosty debate was given a tinge of friendliness: Khrushchev surprisingly attended a banquet attended by both sides the night before the Chinese returned home.In an atmosphere of astonishment, the Russians who drank heavily and the Sichuanese who drank well exchanged toasts.They dated for nine years and never met again. To this day, Deng Xiaoping's assessment of the party chief who was overthrown shortly thereafter remains negative. In August 1980, he said: Khrushchev was not good to the Chinese.On the contrary, Stalin did some good things for us. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, he sincerely helped us to build, renovate and update industrial equipment, which all contributed to China's economic foundation.Of course, we don't receive aid for free, but we have to pay for it.But everything changed when Khrushchev came to power.He declared the Stalin-era treaties and more than 100 contracts null and void. When the General Secretary and his negotiating delegation left the Moscow airport on July 20, 1963, the impression was that he had left hostile territory: for security reasons, the delegation was divided into two planes.Before the planes of staunch "anti-revision fighters" came to a complete stop at the Beijing airport, the party leaders hurried to the runway.They are: Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Dong Biwu, and Jiang Qing, Mao's ambitious wife.Deng had never received such an unusual courtesy before. Since then, Sino-Soviet relations have gone downhill rapidly: In 1966, the relationship between the two parties broke down, and the Soviet embassy in Beijing was closed two years later. In 1969, it reached the lowest point-an armed border conflict occurred on the Ussuri River. If Deng has ever hunted down Russian bears, since 1979 he has been trying to tame them.Under his auspices, Chinese Communist Party ideologues quietly moved away from accusations of revisionism that Deng had vigorously defended. On September 2, 1986, he said that today, there are three major obstacles in Sino-Soviet relations: the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia, the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, and 51 divisions (460,000 people) and SS-20 missiles were stationed on the border of the People's Republic of China. "If Gorbachev takes a serious step," said the 82-year-old Deng, "to remove the three major obstacles to Sino-Soviet relations, especially to force Vietnam to end its aggression against Cambodia, I will be ready to meet with him..."