Telegram Regarding Approval of the Appointment of India’s Temporary Representative to Beijing for Negotiations on the Establishment of a Diplomatic Mission (January 20, 1950) Comrade Shaoqi:  (1) I have received all your telegrams of the 19th. I concur with your view: first dispatch a telegram to Nehru [1], to the effect that we agree to appoint Mr. Yan Yeshen [2] as a temporary representative to come to Beijing to negotiate the preliminary matters and procedural arrangements for the establishment of a diplomatic mission. As for the reply to the British, it should be delayed. Some comrades in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs fail to understand the purpose of such a delay and regard it as “a deadlock,” which is incorrect. There is no deadlock here; the initiative rests entirely in our hands. Please consult with Li Kenong [3] to determine how long the delay should last.  (2) I approve the draft statement to be issued on the Tibetan question.  (3) The matter of the air transport unit will be answered after consultation with Zhou [4].  Mao Zedong January 20, at 1:00 a.m. Printed from the manuscript.  Notes  [1] Nehru was then Prime Minister of India and Minister of External Affairs.  [2] Yan Yeshen had previously served as secretary at the Indian Embassy in Nationalist China.  [3] Li Kenong was then Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Central People’s Government.  [4] Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai.