Telegram from Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai to Liu Shaoqi Greeting Ho Chi Minh〔1〕 (February 1, 1950)Comrade Liu Shaoqi: Please convey our greetings to Comrade Ho Chi Minh, who has played a leading and organizing role in the heroic struggle for Vietnam’s national independence and the establishment of a Vietnamese people’s democratic government.
China and Vietnam have already recognized each other and are about to establish diplomatic relations.
The Soviet Union has already recognized Vietnam, and it is expected that other new democratic countries will also do so (our embassy in the Soviet Union has forwarded Vietnam’s official documents requesting recognition and the establishment of diplomatic relations to the embassies of these countries in Moscow). We extend our heartfelt congratulations on Vietnam’s entry into the anti-imperialist democratic family headed by the Soviet Union, and we wish for the early realization of the reunification of all Vietnamese territory, as well as good health to Comrade Ho Chi Minh and his comrades.Mao ZedongZhou EnlaiFebruary 1, 1950Printed from Mao Zedong’s manuscript.Notes〔1〕 Ho Chi Minh, President and Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, was then in Beijing.