Speech at the Second Session of the First
Plenary Session of the Seventh Central
Committee of the Chinese Communist Party 1
(August 9, 1945)
On August 9, 1945, Mao chaired the second meeting of the First Plenary Session
of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in the
Yangjialing Central Auditorium. The meeting passed the “Resolution on Certain
Historical Issues” and the “Constitution of the Communist Party of China,” both of
which were amended according to the opinions suggested at the Seventh Plenary
Session of the Sixth Central Committee and the Seventh National Congress of
the Communist Party. The meeting focused on the current situation. Mao Zedong
elaborated on the situation after Soviet entry into the war and the Party’s policies
and tasks. He said: “Participation in the war by the Soviet Union brought the War
of Resistance Against Japan to its final stage. We are planning to issue a statement.
We have four tasks: to cooperate in combat, to prevent civil war, to centralize and
unify, and to negotiate with the KMT. Now it is a pleasure to cooperate with the
Soviet Red Army in combat. How exactly we will cooperate will have to await the
start of the war. What we have to do now is deploy cadres, develop an offensive,
prepare dozens of brigades for battle, and devise a plan. The problem of defense
is to solve the “mopping up” operations. Because our Liberated Areas generally
no longer exist and the enemy only exists in some areas, we should extensively
develop an offensive, which relates to preventing civil war. We must also launch
an all-out offensive against the Japanese army. This is not adventurism, for we
must learn to fight on a larger scale. If we do not launch an all-out strategic attack,
we will be making a mistake. Of course, we must be cautious in battle. Chiang
Kaishek is now in charge of defending against Japan, and this kind of defense will
generally be difficult to prevent. Chiang is in the middle, so we should act on the
left and on the right. Our main policy during the first period is to take over the
Japanese puppets, expand the localities, and develop our strength. Then, during
the second period it will be possible to go back and deal with the threat of civil
war. In terms of cadre distribution, finance, urban work, equipment distribution,
etc., we must consider the issues of centralization and unification, with the big cities under the management of the central government. Based on the agreement of
Our source for this text is Nianpu, pp. 618–19.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-6

the Soviet Union, the United States, and China, we should prepare to continue the
KMT-CPC negotiations, and these negotiations should be resolved on an international basis (which is not everything). After Soviet entry into the war, there may
be some changes in American policy, but America is certain to rely on Chiang
Kaishek. Thus, we will face long-term trouble with both the United States and
Chiang. The danger of civil war will increase with the collapse of Japan.