I am very pleased to meet my comrades.
It is not easy to meet with comrades. North and South America are far from China, separated by the Pacific Ocean, compounded by artificial barriers imposed by the United States.


At present, China has not yet established diplomatic relations with many countries around the world, particularly those in the Americas, resulting in limited commercial and cultural exchanges.


However, we believe that diplomatic ties can be gradually established.


China was once a semi-colonial country and remains an economically underdeveloped nation today.


Imperialism is extremely stingy and has no intention of helping other countries develop industry. When they withdrew, they left us with virtually nothing.


Winning over the intermediate forces is crucial.


In both China and the Americas, the national bourgeoisie plays a significant role. Although their numbers are small, their influence is substantial—sometimes even greater than that of the working class.


Therefore, winning them over is of great importance.


Currently, we must both struggle against and unite with the national bourgeoisie, offering them certain benefits so that they will support socialist transformation. What benefits? First, providing them with employment; second, granting them suffrage.


The transformation of the national capitalists cannot be accomplished overnight. We are giving them time. It has been six years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and we plan to allow another three years, for a total of nine.


This approach benefits workers and peasants: production remains uninterrupted, essential goods are readily available in the market, prices stay stable, and the currency’s purchasing power is maintained.


We are now revolutionizing the national bourgeoisie by abolishing their private ownership of the means of production.


Our method involves educating the capitalists through lectures and meetings, encouraging self-criticism while also offering constructive criticism and highlighting their positive aspects to help them change their thinking.


Taking the socialist path is not without pain or struggle for the capitalists.


We have mobilized broad social forces to assist in their transformation. Not only do workers oppose the capitalists, but progressive members of capitalist families are also challenging their parents.


Thus, after six years, capitalist industry and commerce have largely been brought onto the track of socialist transformation.


During this process, we have made proper arrangements for the capitalists, enabling them to gradually become part of the working class.


At present, some factories are headed by capitalists, with our comrades serving as deputy directors. We appoint them as factory heads because of their technical expertise, even though their enterprises are progressively being converted into state-owned enterprises.


Capitalists are far more useful than feudal landlords. With landlords, we merely allocate them some land, allowing them to cultivate it themselves and become farmers; they are currently denied suffrage.


With capitalists, however, the situation is different. They possess technical skills and managerial abilities—areas in which the proletariat must learn from them.


China’s policy toward the national bourgeoisie can serve as a reference for fraternal parties in Central and South America. You might consider intensifying efforts to win over the national bourgeoisie before the revolution, rallying them against imperialism. They are dissatisfied with imperialist domination, and you can either unite with them, win them over, or keep them neutral.


If you can secure the leadership of the proletariat among all peasants and simultaneously win over the bourgeoisie, your task will be greatly simplified. In the ongoing national liberation movement and future social liberation struggles, your prospects will be bright.


The proletariat should unite with the petty bourgeoisie, especially those who do not exploit others—the independent producers such as farmers and artisans. This constitutes an alliance between the exploited and the independent producers who do not exploit others, an alliance of great significance.


Furthermore, the proletariat must forge another type of alliance: one with the national bourgeoisie, enlightened religious figures, and enlightened landlords. Such alliances are indispensable for semi-colonial countries seeking independence and liberation.


In summary, we must unite all those who can be united. Only then can we narrow down our enemies to the bare minimum—imperialism and a small number of pro-imperialist elements within our own country: big capitalists and large landowners closely tied to imperialism.


For us, the more friends we have, the fewer enemies we have.


To achieve this goal, our Party must make full use of every available force. We need a correct policy toward comrades who have made mistakes, one that helps them rather than crushing them.


Criticism is not simply a matter of dismissing someone.


People inevitably make errors. The difference lies in how often and how severely they err, as well as when and how quickly they correct their mistakes.


There was once a tendency within our Party to “crush” comrades who had erred without mercy.


Yet human beings are inherently compassionate, especially toward fellow comrades. Such ruthless suppression only breeds division and disunity within the Party—today I attack you, tomorrow you retaliate against me—and this constant strife undermines the vitality and development of the Party, leaving all comrades unhappy.


Later, our Party corrected this course, choosing instead to assist comrades in rectifying their errors, striving to unite as many people as possible. Comrades who have made mistakes gain valuable experience and lessons, which may even make them stronger than those who have never erred. Those who have never erred, on the other hand, are more likely to stumble next time.


Faced with a formidable enemy, we must mobilize every possible resource—both within society and within the Party—to unite all forces that can be united.


The same principle applies internationally. Without the support of progressive forces worldwide, our revolution cannot succeed.


Imperialism is global in scope, so it is imperative that we rally all international progressive forces—those in South America, Central America, North America, Asia, Europe, and Africa—to counteract its power.


We can coordinate with you to pin down parts of the imperialist machine. Imperialism meddles everywhere, and if we each seize hold of a piece of it, it will find it difficult to move freely. Our victory also depends on the support of progressive forces across the globe.


For example, during the Korean War [2], the United States could deploy only one-third of its forces in Korea and the Far East, another third in Europe, and the remaining third in the Americas. It was compelled to do so. This arrangement worked to our advantage; otherwise, how could we have emerged victorious? How could we have reached an armistice along the 38th parallel [3]? In our struggle against Chiang Kai-shek’s rule and in our endeavor to build socialism, we consistently received assistance from various nations.


Your support for us has been immense, though you may not yet fully realize it.


The United States is deeply concerned about potential uprisings in Latin America and therefore maintains arsenals in Asia, Europe, Africa, and here in Latin America itself. There are also Chinese individuals exiled from mainland China residing in Brazil.


Regarding overseas Chinese, our policy is to win them over—anyone willing to return and refrain from aiding U.S. imperialism, regardless of past transgressions, may be granted amnesty. We hope they will come back, whether just to visit or to seek employment. Chiang Kai-shek could likewise return if he chose to, but he remains obstinate and refuses to do so.


The same applies to other countries: no matter how reactionary they may be, as long as they are willing to engage in trade with us or establish diplomatic relations, we strive to win them over—whether small or large capitalist states. We make every effort to engage Japan as well, despite our deep-seated resentment over its past aggression against China. We reach out to Japanese capitalists and former high-ranking military officers. A group of Japanese soldiers who previously invaded China has requested permission to visit China, and we have agreed. They have already formed a delegation of about a dozen members and plan to arrive after Labor Day. This reflects the stark contrast between Japan’s current status and its historical role; today, Japan effectively occupies a semi-colonial position. In the past, Japan oppressed others, whereas now it finds itself subjected to U.S. bullying. Although the United States has concluded military agreements with Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Pakistan, its standing in these countries remains highly precarious.


China remains economically and culturally underdeveloped. Achieving genuine independence, realizing national prosperity and industrial modernization, will require considerable time and the unwavering support of comrades and peoples around the world.


It is important to clarify that China’s experience serves only as a reference and should not be mechanically copied. Each country must formulate its own policies based on its unique national characteristics, integrating Marxism with its specific context.


China’s experience encompasses both successes and failures, good practices and shortcomings. Even successful experiences may not necessarily align with the particular circumstances of another country. Blindly copying carries significant risks: what succeeds in one nation may lead to failure elsewhere if applied rigidly without adaptation to local conditions. Imitating foreign experiences often results in losses; such imitation is invariably deceptive.


This underscores an important international lesson.


I understand that you comrades here are diligent and eager to study. Diligent learning is indeed a key to overcoming enemies and achieving success. We must analyze everything, discerning what is right from what is wrong, for every matter possesses both positive, illuminating aspects and negative, obscure ones. We should present both sides of China’s experience to foreign audiences. You have already seen the positive side; it is equally important to examine the negative side. The lessons of failure are equally worthy of study, as they can help us avoid detours.


Wang Ming’s dogmatic errors [4] inflicted severe damage on China’s revolution. Yet his mistakes also served a purpose, educating both the Party and the people. In this sense, I myself am his student.


Our teachers are not limited to Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin. Imperialism is our teacher, as is Chiang Kai-shek, and even comrades who have made mistakes. Without them, we would have no opportunity to learn how to conduct affairs.


Stalin possessed both correct and incorrect views. Wang Ming’s “left” opportunist errors originated from Stalin, advocating the overthrow of all things and rejecting unity with the bourgeoisie. This led to indiscriminate purges in society and disunity within the Party. Later, his “right” errors [5] were also derived from Stalin. We have not publicly disclosed these details because we share responsibility for them as well. Overall, Stalin’s record is roughly seven parts merit to three parts demerit. If we had claimed eight parts merit and two parts demerit, the comrades would not have approved it; nor would six parts merit and four parts demerit have passed. However, denying Stalin’s merits would be unjust.


The issue of Stalin does not pertain to any single individual or nation alone, but rather to the entire international proletarian movement. Acknowledging Stalin’s errors is undoubtedly painful for all involved.
The article published by the editorial board of the People’s Daily [6] was discussed at an expanded meeting of our Politburo and underwent six or seven revisions before final publication.
Making mistakes is inevitable. Who does not make mistakes? Do imperialists make fewer errors? Every ledger has debits and credits; errors, representing the debits, must be criticized, while successful experiences, embodying the credits, must be safeguarded. Mistakes often arise from insufficient experience, given that Marxism has only been around for a little over a century. Errors are bound to occur in revolutions and construction projects across all nations. China will certainly continue to make mistakes in the future.
By exercising greater diligence, we can reduce the frequency and scale of nationwide errors; even if they do occur, we can address them more promptly. Of course, completely avoiding errors is impossible if we adhere to materialism. Human thought cannot perfectly reflect objective reality. Humanity can only gradually overcome its cognitive limitations through the process of understanding things—a natural and unavoidable phenomenon. Given the intricate complexity and constant dynamism of the world, human cognition inevitably lags behind reality. If we embrace dialectics, contradictions will persist forever—ten thousand years hence, there will still be contradictions. As one contradiction is resolved, another arises. Contradictions exist in all times, all places, and within every individual; without contradictions, there would be no world.
Some people mistakenly believe that once a socialist society is established, the country will become entirely ideal, devoid of any negativity. This notion is, in fact, a superstition.
Printed from the transcript of talks preserved in the Central Archives.
Notes [1] This is the main portion of Mao Zedong’s remarks to representatives of several Latin American parties.
[2] In June 1950, war broke out between the northern and southern halves of the Korean Peninsula along the 38th parallel—the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. Subsequently, the United States, under the banner of the United Nations, intervened militarily, crossing the 38th parallel and launching a massive offensive toward the Sino-Korean border, posing a grave threat to China’s security. In response, the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army fought alongside the Korean People’s Army to resist U.S. aggression and defend the homeland, inflicting heavy losses on the American forces and ultimately compelling them to sign the Armistice Agreement in Korea in July 1953.
[3] Toward the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to use the 38th parallel north as a temporary dividing line for their respective zones of military operation and occupation in Korea. This line became known as the “38th Parallel.”
[4] Wang Ming’s dogmatic errors refer to his “left” adventurist mistakes. See note [18] on page 47 of this volume.
[5] Wang Ming’s “right” errors are discussed in note [19] on page 48 of this volume.
[6] Refers to “On the Historical Experience of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.”