Participants: Mao Zedong, S.F. Antonov
Archive: Archive of the President of the Russian Federation
URL: https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/journal-sf-antonov-record-conversation-cde-mao-zedong

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SECRET

 единственном экземпляре

JOURNAL

S.F. Antonov Record of Conversation with Cde. Mao Zedong

2 October 1959

On 2 October, I was received by Cde. Mao Zedong.

Present at the conversation were: Cde. Wang Dzan-siang [Wang Zhanxiang], USSR Ambassador to the PRC Cde. Chervonenko, and an interpreter.

Cde. Mao Zedong greeted me cordially and asked about my health and work.  He then asked about N.S. Khrushchev’s health and conveyed to him his best wishes.

I thanked Cde. Mao Zedong for the reception and conveyed to him cordial greetings and best wishes from N.S. Khrushchev.

Mao Zedong:  How long have you been in China?

Antonov:  Almost two months.

Mao Zedong:  Have you been to other places besides Beijing?

Antonov:  I have been to Anshan and Dalian.

Mao Zedong:  What is your impression?

Antonov:  I have a good impression.  I saw the enthusiasm with which the Chinese people are working.  I was in Anshan, where Soviet specialists are working.  They are working well and are helping the Chinese people.

Mao Zedong:  How many Soviet specialists are working in China now?

Antonov:  About 1400.

Mao Zedong:  That’s not enough.  We need 10,000.  (He laughs.)

Antonov:  We are prepared to send as many specialists as you need.

Mao Zedong:  Good.  We will send you our requests.  We need specialists in various fields.  We especially need specialists in the area of petroleum.  We have petroleum, but we don’t know how to extract it.  We also need specialists in the area of nonferrous metallurgy.

Antonov:  We will fulfill your requests.

Mao Zedong:  Thank you.  How is the situation in the Soviet Union?

Antonov:  Everything is going well.  The Soviet people are enthusiastically working to fulfill the seven-year plan.  The Soviet Union is successfully developing its economy and culture.  The living standards of the Soviet people are improving every year.

Mao Zedong:  That’s good.  We are also working.  We are also developing our economy and culture.  We are also improving the living standards of our people.  But we are still poor.  We are still backward.  We need to work hard for several decades in order to catch up with you.

Antonov:  We are glad for your successes.  We are confident that you will achieve great successes.

Mao Zedong:  Thank you.  We must help each other.  We must support each other.  We must unite.

Antonov:  That is correct.  The unity of our parties and countries is the guarantee of our success.

Mao Zedong:  Yes, that is correct.  We must strengthen our unity.  We must fight against imperialism.  We must fight against revisionism.

Antonov:  We fully agree with you.

Mao Zedong:  Good.  What is your opinion of the international situation?

Antonov:  The international situation is complex.  On the one hand, the forces of peace are growing.  On the other hand, the forces of war are still strong.  The imperialists are still trying to unleash a new war.  We must be vigilant.  We must strengthen our defense capability.

Mao Zedong:  That is correct.  We must be vigilant.  We must strengthen our defense capability.  We must not be afraid of war.  We must be prepared for war.

Antonov:  We are not afraid of war.  But we do not want war.  We want peace.  We want to live in peace with all countries.

Mao Zedong:  That is correct.  We also want peace.  But we must not be afraid of war.  If the imperialists unleash a war, we will defeat them.

Antonov:  We are confident that we will defeat them.

Mao Zedong:  Good.  What is your opinion of the situation in Laos?

Antonov:  The situation in Laos is serious.  The imperialists are interfering in the internal affairs of Laos.  They are trying to overthrow the legal government of Laos.  We must support the people of Laos in their struggle for independence and freedom.

Mao Zedong:  That is correct.  We must support the people of Laos.  We must support all the peoples who are fighting for independence and freedom.

Antonov:  We fully agree with you.

Mao Zedong:  Good.  What is your opinion of the situation in Africa?

Antonov:  The situation in Africa is good.  The national liberation movement is growing in Africa.  More and more African countries are gaining independence.  We must support the national liberation movement in Africa.

Mao Zedong:  That is correct.  We must support the national liberation movement in Africa.  We must support all the peoples who are fighting for independence and freedom.

Antonov:  We fully agree with you.

Mao Zedong:  Good.  What is your opinion of the situation in Latin America?

Antonov:  The situation in Latin America is complex.  The imperialists are still dominating Latin America.  But the national liberation movement is growing in Latin America.  We must support the national liberation movement in Latin America.

Mao Zedong:  That is correct.  We must support the national liberation movement in Latin America.  We must support all the peoples who are fighting for independence and freedom.

Antonov:  We fully agree with you.

Mao Zedong:  Good.  What is your opinion of the situation in the United States?

Antonov:  The situation in the United States is complex.  On the one hand, the United States is a strong country.  On the other hand, the United States is a country with many problems.  There is racial discrimination in the United States.  There is unemployment in the United States.  There is poverty in the United States.  We must expose the evils of capitalism.

Mao Zedong:  That is correct.  We must expose the evils of capitalism.  We must show the people of the world that capitalism is a rotten system.

Antonov:  We fully agree with you.

Mao Zedong:  Good.  What is your opinion of the situation in the Soviet Union?

Antonov:  The situation in the Soviet Union is good.  The Soviet Union is a strong country.  The Soviet Union is a country with a bright future.  The Soviet people are living better every year.  We are building communism in the Soviet Union.

Mao Zedong:  That is good.  We are also building socialism in China.  We must learn from each other.  We must help each other.

Antonov:  We fully agree with you.

Mao Zedong:  Good.  I am very glad to have met you.  I wish you success in your work.

Antonov:  Thank you.  I am also very glad to have met you.  I wish you good health.

Mao Zedong:  Thank you.  Goodbye.

Antonov:  Goodbye.

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