Reply to Ambassador of the People's Republic of Bulgaria
(April 25, 1957)

Source: Kau & Leung, The Writings of Mao Zedong 1949-1976, Vol. II
Pages 504-504
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Reply to Ambassador of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria
(April 25, 1957)

Source: RMRB (April 26, 1957), 1. Other Chinese Text: URI (1976), pp. 143-
144. Available English Translation: URI (1976), pp. 145-146.

At this time Anton Nedyalkoy replaced D. Dimov as ambassador of the People’s Republic
of Bulgaria to the PRC. The RMRB source does not convey a salutation for this speech.

I am very happy to accept the letter of credence from the Presidium of the
National Assembly of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria appointing you as the
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the People’s Republic of China,
and express sincere gratitude for your greetings.

The Bulgarian people are an industrious and courageous people who love peace
and freedom and who are loyal to the principles of proletarian internationalism.
The Bulgarian people achieved liberation by a protracted and heroic struggle
against foreign oppression. In the twelve years since the people’s political power
was established,! the Bulgarian people, under the leadership of the glorious
Communist Party of Bulgaria and the government of the People’s Republic of
Bulgaria, have attained splendid achievements in socialist construction, changing
Bulgaria from a backward agricultural nation to an industrial-agricultural country with modernized industry and cooperativized agriculture. Bulgaria has also made
great contributions in the causes of the consolidation of the unity of the big socialist
family headed by the Soviet Union and the maintenance of world peace. The
Chinese people have deep respect and admiration for these successes and contributions of our brothers the Bulgarian people and are happy and inspired by them.

In recent years, the friendship between the Chinese and Bulgarian people and
their mutual cooperation in the areas of politics, economy, and culture have already
been greatly developed. I am deeply confident that such friendship and cooperation
will, on our common path of building socialism, be consolidated and further
developed with each passing day. This not only facilitates the prosperity and
happiness of our two peoples, but also benefits the unity of the big socialist family
headed by the Soviet Union and the strengthening of the forces for world peace
and democracy.

Comrade Ambassador, I warmly welcome you as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria to the People’s
Republic of China. In your work of consolidating and strengthening the friendship
and cooperation between China and Bulgaria, you will receive my complete
support and that of the government of the People’s Republic of China.

May you meet with total success in your work. ]?

Notes

--- Notes

1. There is a bit of confusion as to which date Mao is referring to by the twelve years
here. The “Fatherland Front” government during the late Second World War period, which
was Communist-led but not exactly a “people’s government,” was established in Bulgaria
on September 9, 1944. The monarchy was rejected in a postwar referendum on September
8, 1946, and the People’s Republic of Bulgaria was formally established on December 4,
1947.

2. This last sentence is indirectly quoted in the RMRB source.