--- Notes

Telegram to the Central Committee Concerning Zhou Enlai’s Trip to the Soviet Union and Preparations for the Negotiations (January 5, 1950)

To the Central Committee: We have received your telegram of 7:30 a.m. on January 4.

(1) It has already been agreed that Comrade Zhou will bring with him about seventeen persons; their visit is approved and there are no objections.
The night train departing from Beijing at 1:00 a.m. on January 9 has also been duly notified to the local authorities here.

(2) It would seem advisable for Burhan, Deng Liqun[1] and the Minister of Trade of Ili to arrive in Moscow two or three days after Comrade Enlai—on January 21 or 22—or possibly on the same day as Enlai, namely January 19.
Please make a decision promptly and inform us accordingly.
Moreover, please decide whether aircraft should be dispatched from here to provide transportation for Burhan, Deng Liqun and others, or whether one plane should be assigned by the existing air transport unit in Xinjiang, and telegraph us your decision without delay.

(3) With regard to the main points of the negotiations and the preparatory work, all the matters you have outlined are indeed those that must be carefully noted and thoroughly prepared.
Since this is a negotiation, it is essential to engage in substantive talks and clearly set forth our positions.
After Comrade Enlai sets out, we request that the Central Committee continue its deliberations and keep us informed of its views by telegram as needed.
As for materials pertaining to trade, if some cannot be fully prepared within five days, they may be continued after Enlai’s departure, with regular updates transmitted by telegram.

Mao Zedong, 6:00 a.m., January 5, printed from the manuscript.

Notes [1] Burhan was then Chairman of the People’s Government of Xinjiang Province.
Deng Liqun was then Secretary-General of the Xinjiang Branch of the CPC Central Committee, Director of the Cultural and Educational Commission of the Xinjiang Provincial People’s Government, and concurrently Head of the Foreign Affairs Office.