Reply to Zhou Enlai’s Telegram[1]

(December 24, 1940)

Agree to the exchange conditions when you meet with Chiang[2], except that regarding the troops north of the Yangtze River, change “request for delayed transfer” to “request for exemption from transfer,” and inform Chiang in accordance with the position stated in the “Jia Telegram.”

[1] This is the main content of Mao Zedong’s reply to Zhou Enlai’s telegram.

[2] On December 24, Zhou Enlai telegraphed Mao Zedong and the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, stating that he planned to meet with Chiang Kai-shek on the 25th and propose to Chiang that the New Fourth Army’s troops in southern Anhui had decided to cross the Yangtze River, and that the troops north of the Yangtze River would have their transfer to north of the Yellow River delayed. The exchange conditions were: promptly provide the New Fourth Army with supplementary ammunition and pay, halt the advance of the Kuomintang’s Central China forces, stop the nationwide political oppression, and revoke Zhang Guotao’s qualification as a member of the National Political Council.