Reply Upon Accepting the Letters of Credence from Mr. Konig, Head of the Diplomatic Mission of the German Democratic Republic to the People’s Republic of China (June 24, 1950)

Your Excellency, the Head of the Mission:  It gives me great pleasure to accept the letters of credence tendered by Your Excellency on behalf of the President of the German Democratic Republic, and I am grateful for Your Excellency’s warm congratulations. Since the mighty Soviet Army shattered Hitler’s reactionary state apparatus, the Chinese people have been following with keen interest the development of the democratic movement among the German people. With the establishment of the new Germany—the German Democratic Republic—under the leadership of Your Excellency’s President, Herr Wilhelm Pieck, which marked a turning point in both German and European history, the Chinese people have felt all the more delighted, perceiving in you a fine and powerful friend.

It was at just such a moment that the People’s Republic of China was founded, the Chinese revolution had achieved nationwide victory, and diplomatic relations between our two countries were swiftly established. There can be no doubt that the founding of diplomatic ties between our two nations will not only further develop and consolidate the friendship between our peoples, but will also provide a strong guarantee for lasting world peace.

I warmly welcome Your Excellency to the post of Ambassador and Head of the Diplomatic Mission of the German Democratic Republic to the People’s Republic of China, and I stand ready to assist Your Excellency in strengthening cooperation between our two countries.

I extend my best wishes for your country’s prosperity and its people’s flourishing, and for the good health of your Head of State.

Printed in the People’s Daily, June 25, 1950. (With Mao Zedong’s manuscript.)