To Zhou Enlai and Others[1]

(May 26, 1946)

In the Northeast, we have conceded up to the point where neither side stations troops in Changchun; beyond this, there can be no further concessions whatsoever. If the United States and Chiang Kai-shek want to fight, let them fight; if they want to occupy territory, let them occupy it. We absolutely cannot legally recognize their fighting and occupation as legitimate.

[1] This is the main content of a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, addressed to Zhou Enlai and for the information of Ye Jianying and Luo Ruiqing.