To Zhou Enlai [1]
(March 14, 1937)

The negotiations have not broken down; it is only that the He proposal is not accepted, and the fifteen articles require supplementary revisions in principle and in wording. The grand plan for peace has been decided. What is now under negotiation are specific plans concerning state policy and the relationship between the two parties (including organizational issues such as the Red Army and the Soviet areas). These must be appropriate in principle and feasible in practice, hence further discussions must be held before continuing the talks.

[1] This is the main content of a telegram sent by Mao Zedong and Luo Fu (Zhang Wentian) to Zhou Enlai.
[2] On March 8, 1937, Zhou Enlai, Ye Jianying, and Gu Zhutong, He Zhonghan, and Zhang Chong held talks, summarizing the negotiations of the past month. Zhou Enlai drafted the articles, which were to be submitted to Chiang Kai-shek for final decision. The draft prepared by Zhou Enlai included five articles on political issues, four on reorganization issues, and six on follow-up issues, totaling fifteen articles. On the same day, Zhou Enlai telegraphed these fifteen articles to the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.