Comrade Zhou Enlai's report [2] is very good. We should agree with the principles he has spoken of and approve the past activities of the delegation.
The activities of the past two and a half months have been very good.
Our several countries—the Soviet Union, China, and also Korea and Vietnam—are very well united, the principles are correct, and the activities have been successful.
In Geneva, we seized upon the slogan of peace, that is, we want peace.
But the Americans do not seize upon this thing; they just want to fight. In this way, they are very much in the wrong, without reason.
Now, there are more people who want peace. We must cooperate with all who are willing to have peace to isolate those bellicose elements, that is, to isolate the American authorities, mainly that faction within it which is eager to fight a war.
America has seized upon a place like Indochina, a war like this. On this point, many people in our country still do not see it very clearly.
Why does a war in such a small place affect the whole world? It is because America wants to use this place to make an issue of it, to use this place to expand the war and continue fighting.
This issue has very large implications, affecting Southeast Asia, affecting Asia, Europe, America (for example, Canada), and Australia.
Therefore, many people agree with peace.
As for the concrete steps, they are what Comrade Enlai has spoken of, the things that were agreed upon with Comrade Ho Chi Minh [3] and others in the past to be done, and the things that were settled in the talks this time.
In negotiations, what should be conceded must be conceded, and what should be insisted upon must be insisted upon.
In accordance with the general principles, if these specific activities are carried out appropriately, peace can be achieved, and the objective of uniting the majority and isolating the minority (that is, the Americans) can be reached.
Therefore, we should approve these past activities.
What lies ahead is the final stage of the conference. If we continue to implement this principle and press a bit harder on some specific issues, it is estimated that an agreement can be reached, and a new situation can be opened up.
The general international situation now is that the Americans are quite isolated.
After this Southeast Asia issue—the Indochina issue—is resolved, it is estimated that their isolation will continue to develop.
Now, a large group in Britain, France, the countries of Southeast Asia, Canada, Mexico, and some South American countries all dislike the United States.
Therefore, this situation is very hopeful.
Now, it is already impossible to shut the door tightly, and there is a very favorable situation that requires us to go out.
For example, when Churchill negotiated with the United States in Washington, they issued a joint declaration [4] with six articles. They could not but write the first and second articles, which say they want to shake hands with us.
This is Eisenhower promising to shake hands.
As to which countries and under what conditions to shake hands, they say there must be genuine guarantees and good actions.
Do we not have the Five Principles [5]? Are they not a very good guarantee? Is our participation in the Geneva Conference [6] not a very good action? Therefore, the relationships among the imperialist countries can be further divided.
There are also contradictions within the United States.
As Comrade Enlai said, Eisenhower and Smith [7], as well as his Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of Defense, do not approve of fighting now; people like Dulles, Knowland, Nixon, and Radford [8] are a bit more adventurous.
Therefore, it is not that there is nothing to be done with a country like the United States.
An important issue in the current relationship between the United States and us is the Taiwan issue. This is a long-term issue.
We must sabotage the possibility of the United States concluding a treaty [9] with Taiwan, and we must also think of some methods and carry out propaganda.
We must organize some propaganda to fiercely curse the United States for what it is doing in Taiwan and Jiang Jieshi for continuing to sell out the country.
In addition, there must be an appropriate expression in diplomacy, for example, contact on the issue of overseas nationals, with the aim of forcing the United States not to conclude a treaty with Taiwan.
I think that if the United States concludes a treaty with Taiwan, Britain will also be afraid and will oppose it, and France may also oppose it. It is of no benefit to them either; it would just become a long-term stalemate.
Easing international tensions and that countries with different systems can coexist peacefully—this is a slogan put forward by the Soviet Union, and it is also our slogan. Now it has become something on the lips of people like Eden [10], something on the lips of people like Nehru [11]. They also talk about easing international tensions.
This is a very big change.
It is estimated that this kind of change will be promoted for another period, as long as this Southeast Asia issue is settled peacefully.
Therefore, the entire situation should be said to be a great improvement compared to the past.
Therefore, we must carry out work with many countries, such as Britain, France, and Canada, and countries like India and Burma—all those with whom it is possible.
Even with a country like Thailand, which is near our country and is also afraid of us, we must also carry out work.
At the same time, we must cause the United States to be divided and isolated. After it is isolated, it will inevitably be divided.
In the current fragmented situation in the world, something like an iron plate is impossible.
It is true that they are anti-Soviet, anti-communist, anti-China, anti-people's democracies, and against our camp; however, their capitalist world is very disunited, fragmented.
The main and greatest objective of the United States now is still to bring this intermediate zone into line, that is, the places from Japan to Britain, bringing these countries into line until they cry out.
On this point, many democratic personages in our country do not understand. They just believe that propaganda, always saying, you see, they are very well united.
Therefore, tomorrow I will speak on this issue to explain that this is not actually the case.
The United States now often uses the banner of opposing communism to occupy the places of its friends.
Look at our East: it has occupied Japan, occupied South Korea, occupied Taiwan, occupied the Philippines, Thailand has become its, Pakistan has become its, and also Turkey, Australia, New Zealand. So it has put Britain in an impossible position.
What kind of country is Japan? In the past, there was the Anglo-Japanese Alliance; Japan was an ally of Britain.
The country of China was in the past a semi-colony of countries led by Britain, and was later snatched away by the United States.
Our victory was not won from Britain but from the United States.
Today, China is victorious. Britain is on the one hand fearful, that is, afraid of communism; on the other hand, it is happy, that is, we have driven the Americans away, and Britain can slip in to do business, taking advantage of the time when we are still at odds with the United States to slip in and do business.
China is a very big place where business can be done.
So the situation is very good.
In short, internationally, we will just implement this principle. As long as we can unite on the issue of peace, we will establish relations with them to defend our country, defend socialism, and strive for the construction of a great socialist country.

Based on the transcript of the speech preserved in the Central Archives.

Notes
[1] This is a speech by Mao Zedong at an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
[2] Refers to the report made by Zhou Enlai at an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on attending the Geneva Conference, visiting India and Burma, and holding Sino-Vietnamese talks. Zhou Enlai said that the principle we adopted at the Geneva Conference was to unite with France, Britain, the Southeast Asian countries, and the three countries of Indochina, that is, to unite all international forces that can be united, to isolate the United States, and to limit and smash the American plan to expand world hegemony. The key issue among these was to bring about peace in Indochina.
[3] Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969) was at that time Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam and President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
[4] Refers to the joint declaration issued by British Prime Minister Churchill and U.S. President Eisenhower in Washington on June 29, 1954. The declaration had six articles. The first article said: "We will continue to work together in a spirit of close and cordial friendship to seek world peace on the basis of the principles of the Atlantic Charter, which we reaffirm." The second article said: "We, together and individually, continue to hold out the hand of friendship to any and all nations which by solemn pledge and confirming deeds show themselves desirous of participating in a just and fair peace."
[5] Refers to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which include mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. From December 1953 to April 1954, a delegation of the Chinese government held negotiations in Beijing with a delegation of the Indian government on the relations between the two countries in the Tibet region of China. These five principles were put forward by Premier Zhou Enlai in his conversation with the Indian delegation at the beginning of the negotiations and were later formally written into the preamble of the "Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India on Trade and Intercourse between Tibet Region of China and India" reached by the two sides. The formulation of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence was adopted in the joint statement of Premier Zhou Enlai and Indian Prime Minister Nehru in June 1954 and in many subsequent international documents. The Five Principles, as a norm for relations between states, have been widely recognized and used in the world.
[6] The Geneva Conference refers to the international conference held in Geneva, Switzerland, from April 26 to July 21, 1954, to discuss the peaceful settlement of the Korean question and the restoration of peace in Indochina. China, the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain, and France participated in the discussions on both topics. North and South Korea and the other twelve countries that had invaded North Korea, besides the U.S., Britain, and France, participated in the discussion of the Korean question. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and the South Vietnamese regime participated in the discussion of the Indochina question. No agreement was reached on the Korean question. On the restoration of peace in Indochina, agreements on the cessation of hostilities in the three countries of Indochina and the "Final Declaration of the Geneva Conference" (collectively known as the Geneva Accords) were reached respectively, realizing a ceasefire in Indochina.
[7] Smith (1895–1961) was at that time U.S. Under Secretary of State and a representative of the U.S. delegation during the Geneva Conference.
[8] Dulles (1888–1959) was at that time U.S. Secretary of State. Knowland (1908–1974) was at that time a U.S. Senator and the Senate Republican Leader. Nixon (1913–1994) was at that time Vice President of the United States. Radford (1896–1973) was at that time Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
[9] On December 2, 1954, the U.S. government, disregarding the opposition of the Chinese government and people, signed the "Mutual Defense Treaty" with the Taiwan authorities. The treaty stipulated that the United States would help the Taiwan authorities maintain and develop their armed forces; in the event of an "armed attack" on Taiwan, "the United States would take action" to deal with the "common danger"; the United States had the right to deploy land, sea, and air forces in and around Taiwan and Penghu, and this could be extended to "other territories" as decided by mutual agreement. The treaty came into effect on March 3, 1955. On December 15, 1978, the U.S. government announced in a statement on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States of America and the People's Republic of China that the U.S.-Taiwan "Mutual Defense Treaty" would be terminated. The treaty was formally abrogated on January 1, 1980.
[10] Eden (1897–1977) was at that time British Foreign Secretary.
[11] Nehru (1889–1964) was at that time Prime Minister of India.