Speech at Banquet for Radhakrishnan
(September 19, 1957)

Source: Kau & Leung, The Writings of Mao Zedong 1949-1976, Vol. II
Pages 680-681
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Speech at Banquet for Radhakrishnan
(September 19, 1957)

Source: RMRB (Sept. 20, 1957), 1. Other Chinese Texts: XHBYK, 118 (Oct. 25,
1957), 134; URI (1976), p. 319; RMSC (1958), pp. 414415. Available English
Translations: NCNA, Daily News Release (Sept. 20, 1957), 1: URI (1976), p. 321.

This speech was made during a banquet held in honor of India’s Vice-President Dr. S.
Radhakrishnan by Zhou Enlai, premier of the People’s Republic of China.

Another banquet was held by Indian Ambassador Nehru on the following day. Mao
apparently also made a toast at this latter banquet which was not reported in direct speech,
and whose contents were far less significant than this speech here. (See RMRB [Sept. 21,
1957], 1.)

Your Excellency,
Vice-President,
Comrades, Friends:

The Vice-President of the Republic of India, the outstanding Indian scholar and
statesman, China's good friend, Dr. Radhakrishnan, has come to our country to pay


JULY — SEPTEMBER / 681

a friendly visit. We express to him our warm welcome. We are grateful to him for
bringing to the Chinese people the profound friendship of the great Indian people.

Since ancient times the great nations of China and India have been good friends
and good neighbors. The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence,! which are
jointly initiated by our two countries, have also provided our traditional friendship
with a new foundation and new development. Our two peoples are each building
their own state and striving for world peace. For the sake of these common goals,
our two countries are carrying on a close and friendly cooperation. The uniting
together of the one billion people of China and India constitutes a great force and
is a guarantee for Asian and world peace.

One important characteristic of our age is the upsurge of movements for national
independence in the Afro-Asian countries. Colonialists are trying every method to
reverse this trend. However, as was demonstrated to the whole world last year by
the Egyptian people and now by the Syrian people,; all the schemes and provocations by the colonialists are bound to meet with disastrous defeat. The Chinese
people resolutely support all the Afro-Asian peoples in their struggles to attain and
maintain national independence.

The Chinese people historically have held the industrious and intelligent Indian
people in the highest esteem. We congratulate the Indian people on their every
success in the construction of peace. We admire the Indian people for their brilliant
contributions to the cause of international peace. We especially thank India for its
righteous support of China in international affairs. We have no doubt that India
will assume an ever more important role in the world.

I propose [a toast]: To the Republic of India’s prosperity and the happiness of
the Indian people,

To the friendship between the Chinese and Indian peoples,

To world peace,

To the health of His Excellency Vice-President Radhakrishnan of the Republic
of India,

To the health of His Excellency President Prasad of the Republic of India,

Bottoms up!

Notes

--- Notes

I. See text Jan. 28, 1955(2), vol. I, note 1.

2. See text Sept. 15, 1956(2), note 6.


3. It should be noted that at the time of this speech by Mao, the Syrian crisis of 1957
was only in its unfolding stage. Alleging “plots,” Syria and the United States ousted each
other’s embassy officials on August 13-14, and as Cold War tensions mounted, President
Eisenhower accused the USSR, on August 21, of seeking to take control of the Syrian
government. Subsequently, on September 7, Eisenhower reiterated the so-called Eisenhower
Doctrine, which pledged the employment of U.S. armed forces in the event of Communist
aggression in the Middle East. (This had been announced by the President in the form of a
request for such authorization in a message to the U.S. Congress on January 5, 1957.) On
September 5, the United States announced plans to airlift arms to Jordan and to accelerate
fulfillment of commitments previously made to increase the armaments of Lebanon, Turkey,
and Iraq. On September 7, the Syrian government accused that U.S. actions were threatening