Montgomery:
The leader of the Western world is the United States. Now the Western countries are afraid of being led by this leader into war, which is a very strange phenomenon. Because in the last two world wars, the United States waited until the war was halfway through before joining. But now the Western countries are afraid that the United States will lead them into war. We must change this kind of situation: the current situation is that the leader of the Western bloc and the two largest countries of the Eastern bloc cannot talk to each other at all. For this reason, America's leadership in the West is being questioned.

Mao: As long as America's leadership is not weakened, and is strengthened by Britain and France, it will be impossible to change the situation.

Montgomery: I believe such a situation will inevitably arise.

Mao: You are British, you have traveled to France, you have been to the Soviet Union twice, and now you have come to China. Is it possible for Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and China to reach a consensus on certain major international issues?

Montgomery: Yes, I think it is possible. But, due to America's leadership, Britain and France would be afraid to do so.

Mao: Take it slowly. We hope your country will become stronger, we hope France will become stronger, we hope you will have a greater say, then things will be easier to handle, so that the United States, West Germany, and Japan will be somewhat restrained.

What threatens you and France are the United States and West Germany, and also Japan in the Far East. What threatens us are also these three countries. We do not feel that Britain is a threat to us, nor do we think France is a threat to us. The threat to us comes mainly from the United States and Japan.

Montgomery: I think what is very important is, in this very complex situation, which step should we take first? I think the first thing should be to withdraw all foreign troops from the territory of other countries, which will take time.

Mao: It is mainly America's forces, partly in Europe, partly in Asia. Britain has only four divisions in Germany.

Montgomery: Only three.

Mao: But the United States has one and a half million troops abroad, two hundred and fifty military bases, including in West Germany, Britain, Turkey, and also in Morocco. In the East, the United States has military bases in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines; the United States also has military personnel in South Vietnam, and air bases in Thailand and Pakistan.

Montgomery: The main problem is that everyone should go back to their own country. If we can do two things, we might be able to ease the tension: first, stop the military occupation of Europe; second, resolve the Taiwan issue. Problems can only be solved one by one.

May 27, 1960, Mao Zedong meets with British Field Marshal Montgomery.

Mao: But the people are doing it. The people of South Korea, the people of Japan, and also the Turkish people, are all holding demonstrations. A coup d'état just happened in Turkey[1], this can't be said to be the work of the Communist Party, can it?

Montgomery: It is not good to do everything at the same time. I am a military man, I understand this point. You are also a military man, you should also understand this point.

Mao: You have thirty-five years of military service, you are longer than me, I only have twenty-five.

Mao: I have fifty-two years.

Mao: But I am still the chairman of the Communist Party's Military Commission.

Montgomery: That's very good. I have read your writings on military affairs, they are very well written.

Mao: I don't think they are that good. I learned from you all. You have studied Clausewitz[2], I have also studied him. He said that war is the continuation of politics by other means.

Montgomery: I have also studied Genghis Khan[3], he emphasized mobility.

Mao: You haven't read our country's *Sunzi's Art of War* from two thousand years ago, have you? There are some very good things in it.

Montgomery: Does it mention more military principles?

Mao: Some very good principles, there are thirteen chapters in total.

Montgomery: We should return from two thousand years ago to the present.

Do you agree that after I return to London, I will mobilize world public opinion on the two major issues of ending the military occupation of Europe and resolving the Taiwan issue? Do you agree to start with these two issues first?

[1] In 1950, in Turkey's free elections, the Democratic Party led by Menderes won and took power. After taking office, Menderes went back on his promises, abandoned democracy and the constitution, and suppressed the opposition. On May 27, 1960, a group of junior officers of the Turkish armed forces commanded troops in Istanbul and Ankara to launch a military coup, overthrowing the Menderes government, and Menderes was sentenced to death.
[2] Clausewitz (1780-1831), German military theorist, whose main work is *On War*.
[3] Genghis Khan (1162-1227), Emperor Taizu of Yuan, personal name Temüjin, a military strategist and statesman.

Mao: Good, I approve.

Montgomery: I can make things very difficult for the United States.

Mao: There are also two points here: one is that you do this; the other is that the Americans are very arrogant, they will not yield an inch of ground.

Montgomery: I can make things very difficult for the United States.

Mao: It's possible.

Montgomery: I am very familiar with the Americans, I have many friends in the United States, their views are the same as mine.

Mao: Our policy is also to make things difficult for the United States.

Montgomery: In the United States, I have many friends who will agree with my opinion. Many powerful people in the press will also agree with me. I have never tried to make things difficult for the United States in the past, I think I will make things difficult for it now.

Mao: The United States is very passive now. There are several hundred nooses tying up the United States, it has two hundred and fifty military bases abroad.

Montgomery: I think some blunt home truths should be told to the Americans.

Mao: Half of America's army is tied down on bases. It has three million troops, of which one and a half million are overseas, including in your Britain and in China's Taiwan. We do not have a single military base abroad, not a single soldier.

Montgomery: Does the Chairman agree with the several principles I discussed with Zhou Enlai that the United States should abide by? That is: first, the United States should recognize that Taiwan is a part of China; second, the United States should withdraw from Taiwan; third, the Taiwan issue should be negotiated between China and Chiang Kai-shek.

Mao: I know, and I agree. We do not want to use war to solve the problem with the United States. It is different with Chiang Kai-shek, but if he does not use force, we will not use force either.

Montgomery: I agree with this point.

Mao: The United States has declared its willingness to resolve international issues through peaceful negotiations, without using force or the threat of force. Whether this statement is reliable is still an assumption, we still have to wait and see. But Chiang Kai-shek has not issued such a statement, he opposes negotiations with the Chinese Communist Party, while we have long expressed our willingness to resolve the issue with Chiang Kai-shek through negotiations.

Montgomery: Do you know Chiang Kai-shek?

Mao: He is my old friend, how could I not know him? Chiang Kai-shek came to power with our help. Before he came to power, we dealt with Sun Yat-sen.

Montgomery: Did Chairman Mao and Chiang Kai-shek cooperate during the War of Resistance Against Japan?

Mao: We cooperated for eight years in the War of Resistance. Later, he cooperated with the United States to fight us.

In the past, your Britain had an alliance with Japan to deal with Tsarist Russia. At that time, the Far East was your domain, China was mainly your sphere of influence. When did this situation change? It began to change during the First World War. After the Second World War, you could no longer control Japan, it was controlled by the United States. Britain also made a gentleman's agreement with the United States, ceding China to the United States. This was told to me by Mrs. Cripps when she came to Yan'an. She said that on the China issue, Britain no longer had a say. From then on, the Chinese people's hatred for Britain was eliminated, and the Chinese people's hatred turned towards the United States. After Japan's surrender, there were ninety thousand American troops in China.

Montgomery: But the past hatred was directed at Britain.

Mao: In the past, it was directed at Britain, and at the same time at Japan.

Montgomery: We were once the worst foreign devils.

Mao: In the past there was also Japan, later it became Japan and the United States.

Montgomery: Do you oppose the United States because the United States sent General Marshall to China to interfere in China's internal affairs?

Mao: It was with the help of the United States that Japan occupied more than half of China. Japan had no iron, no oil, and very little coal. These three things were continuously sent to Japan by the United States. But, the United States fostered a power, yet it created a Pearl Harbor incident[1].

Montgomery: You are not afraid of Japan today, are you?

Mao: Still a little afraid, because the United States is fostering Japanese militarism.

Montgomery: Japan is a highly organized industrial country.

Mao: America's main base in the East is Japan. On the nineteenth of this month, Japan forcibly passed a military alliance treaty with the United States in its Diet[2].

Montgomery: Does Japan have any bad intentions towards China?

Mao: I think it does.

Montgomery: What kind of intentions?

Mao: Of course, it is mainly the United States. The Japan-U.S. treaty includes China's coastal areas within the scope of the Far East as interpreted by Japan.

I have read Eden's[3] memoirs. He talked about the Suez issue, the Egypt issue, and the Iran issue, and also talked about the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization issue. He said that when the United States was organizing the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, Britain hoped for India to join, but the United States firmly opposed it. The United States said that if Britain wanted India to join, the United States would want Chiang Kai-shek and Japan to join.

Montgomery: India would not have joined.

Mao: At that time, Eden wanted to let India join to counter the United States. Eden said in his memoirs that he could not understand how Chiang Kai-shek could be mentioned in the same breath as Nehru[4].

Montgomery: I have an interesting question to ask the Chairman: China will probably need fifty years, and everything will be more or less done, the people's lives will be greatly improved, the housing problem, the education problem, and the construction problem will all be solved. At that time, what do you think China's future will be?

Mao: Your view is that at that time we will commit aggression, is that right?

Montgomery: No, at least I hope you will not.

Mao: You are afraid we will commit aggression.

Montgomery: I feel that when a country becomes strong, it should be very careful not to commit aggression. Just look at the United States.

Mao: Right, very right, you can also look at Britain. Before the First World War, the most powerful country in the world was the British Empire. And America one hundred and eighty years ago was just a British colony.

Montgomery: The lesson of history is that when a country is very powerful, it tends to commit aggression.

Mao: If one commits aggression abroad, one will be beaten back. Who was stronger, Washington's[1] North America or the British Empire? But, Washington, with a few rotten guns, fought for eight years and drove the British Empire back.

Montgomery: The American Revolution was a good thing. Revolutions are often good things. If it weren't for the American Revolution, Canada would not be the Canada of today. The Chinese revolution was also good. So revolutions can be good.

Mao: You are very enlightened!

Montgomery: I am a military man.

Mao: Foreign countries are places where foreigners live, others cannot go, they have neither the right nor the reason to force their way in.

[1] On December 8, 1941, Japan, without a declaration of war, suddenly attacked Pearl Harbor, the largest U.S. naval and air base in the Pacific region, destroying or damaging 19 U.S. warships and over 200 aircraft. The U.S. Pacific Fleet suffered heavy losses. On the same day, the United States declared war on Japan, and the Pacific War broke out.
[2] Refers to the *Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and the United States of America*.
[3] Eden (1897-1977), British Conservative, former British Prime Minister and diplomat.
[4] Nehru, then Prime Minister of India.
[1] Washington (1732-1799), first President of the United States. After the outbreak of the American War of Independence in 1775, he served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, reorganizing and training the poorly armed and loosely organized local militias into a regular army capable of confronting the British army, and led the United States to victory in the War of Independence.

Montgomery: I agree.

Mao: If you go, you will be driven out, this is the lesson of history.

Montgomery: What will be the fate of China in fifty years? By then China will be the most powerful country in the world.

Mao: Not necessarily. In fifty years, China's fate will still be nine million six hundred thousand square kilometers. China has no God, but has a Jade Emperor. In fifty years, the area under the Jade Emperor's jurisdiction will still be nine million six hundred thousand square kilometers. If we occupy an inch of other people's land, we are aggressors. In fact, we are the ones being aggressed against, the United States still occupies our Taiwan. But the United Nations has given us a title, calling us "aggressors." You are talking to an "aggressor," do you know that? An "aggressor" is sitting opposite you, are you afraid?

Montgomery: Before the revolution, you suffered our aggression.

Mao: It happened in the past, now that hatred is gone, only a little tail is left. As long as your government improves its attitude a little, we can establish formal diplomatic relations with you and exchange ambassadors.

Montgomery: I hope so.

Mao: If the four countries of Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and China can be closer, things will be better.

Montgomery: I hope to see this situation.

Mao: Why don't you improve your attitude a little? The fundamental issues have been resolved, you have no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, you agree that the Beijing government represents China, you have already done the fundamental things. Only individual issues remain, which are:
One, when discussing the issue of Chiang Kai-shek's representation in the United Nations, you stand with the United States;
Two, you still have a consulate in Taiwan;
Three, your government is relatively pro-Taiwan and distant from China, many of Chiang Kai-shek's people go from Taiwan to London and are received by your Foreign Office.
In addition, on the Tibet issue, you also stand with the United States. A rebel from Tibet went to London and was received by a responsible person from your Foreign Office.

Montgomery: I did not know this. Tibet is within China.

Mao: There are many things your Foreign Office does that you do not know about. So in my view, we cannot easily grant formal representation to Britain, cannot formally exchange ambassadors with Britain.

Montgomery: This requires time and patience.

Mao: As long as you improve your attitude a little, our relations will improve.

Montgomery: I think the issue you mentioned about Britain, France, Russia, and China is very interesting. I am very familiar with Macmillan[1] and de Gaulle[2]. De Gaulle has asked me to go to Paris next month to meet with him, I will tell him this point. De Gaulle is a very good person.

Mao: We have two feelings about de Gaulle: first, he is not bad; second, he has shortcomings.

Montgomery: Everyone has shortcomings.

Mao: To say he is not bad is because he has the courage to be independent from the United States. He does not completely follow America's baton, he does not allow the United States to establish air bases in France, his army is also commanded by him and not by the United States.

Montgomery: The navy is also like this.

Mao: France's fleet in the Mediterranean was originally commanded by the United States, now he has also taken back the command. We appreciate these points very much.
On the other hand, his shortcomings are great. He has placed half of his army in Algeria to fight a war, which has tied his hands and feet.

Montgomery: De Gaulle would say that Algeria is a province of France, and legally de Gaulle is right to say so.

[1] Macmillan (1894-1986), British Conservative, then British Prime Minister.
[2] De Gaulle (1890-1970), then President of France.

Mao: The Algerians do not agree, they demand independence.

Montgomery: That's where the trouble lies, so it must be resolved. But legally Algeria is a province of France. This problem must be resolved.

Mao: The Algeria problem should be resolved. The Algerians told me that France has nine hundred thousand troops in Algeria, I don't think it's that many, probably five or six hundred thousand. Every day, every month, every year, France is spending a large amount of military expenditure in Algeria, which is very disadvantageous for France.

Montgomery: This problem must be resolved.

Mao: It must be resolved. The French army cannot fight, in Vietnam they could not defeat Ho Chi Minh's[1] troops either.

Montgomery: This problem must be resolved.

Mao: They have been fighting in Algeria for six years. In the beginning, Algeria only had three thousand guerrillas, now it has developed into an army of one hundred thousand.

Montgomery: This problem must be resolved. De Gaulle's position depends to a large extent on whether he can solve this problem, if he cannot solve it, he may be forced to step down.

Mao: It will also determine whether he can have equal rights with Britain and the United States in Europe.

Montgomery: He has already got it. He has insisted on this point.

Mao: Not entirely, the Americans are not equal. We are very happy to see that when Macmillan visited France and de Gaulle visited London, they were received with grand ceremony. We hope your two countries can cooperate.

Montgomery: Macmillan is probably the best political leader in the Western world.

[1] Ho Chi Minh, then Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam and President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, had led the Vietnamese people in the war of resistance against France for national salvation.

Mao: Possibly. At least he is better than Eisenhower.

Montgomery: Who could be better than him? I mean in the Western world.

Mao: We hope Britain can become even stronger.

Montgomery: He is the most intelligent and most honest person in the Western bloc.

Mao: One can see that he is relatively methodical.

Montgomery: My standard for measuring a political leader is whether he will sacrifice his principles for position. Do you agree with such a standard? If a leader sacrifices his principles to obtain a very high position, he is not a good person.

Mao: My opinion is this, a leader should be the spokesman for the overwhelming majority of the people.

Montgomery: But he cannot sacrifice his principles!

Mao: This is the principle, he should represent the aspirations of the people.

Montgomery: He must lead the people to do what is most beneficial.

Mao: He must be for the interests of the people.

Montgomery: But the people do not always know what is most beneficial for them, the leader must lead them to do what is beneficial for them.

Mao: The people understand things. In the end, it is the people who decide issues. It was precisely because Cromwell[1] represented the people that the king was forced to concede.

Montgomery: Cromwell only represented a minority.

Mao: He represented the bourgeoisie against the feudal lords.

Montgomery: But he failed. A few years after Cromwell died and was buried, people dug up his body, cut off his head, and hung his head on the roof of the Parliament House for several years.

[1] Cromwell (1599-1658), the main military and political leader during the 17th-century English bourgeois revolution, leader of the Independents, and a representative figure of the new bourgeois gentry. He led his army to defeat the king's army, declared the establishment of a republic in 1649, and in 1653 named himself "Lord Protector," establishing a military dictatorship.

Mao: But in history, Cromwell has prestige.

Montgomery: If it weren't for Cromwell, Britain would not be the Britain of today.

Mao: Jesus was nailed to the cross, but Jesus has prestige.

Montgomery: That was after he died, when he was alive, he did not have many followers.

Mao: Washington represented the American people.

Montgomery: But he was assassinated[1].

Mao: India's Gandhi[2] was also assassinated, but he represented the Indian people.

[1] Here Montgomery's memory is mistaken, Washington died of illness at his hometown of Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799.
[2] Gandhi (1869-1948), leader of the Indian national independence movement, was elected president of the Indian National Congress, and for a long time led the struggle against British colonial rule and for India's independence. He was assassinated on January 30, 1948.

Letter to Castro
(May 30, 1960)

Respected Prime Minister of Cuba, Dr. Fidel Castro:

I was very happy to meet your comrade-in-arms, Inspector General of the Cuban Rebel Army, Major William Gálvez Rodríguez, and I am very grateful for the warm and friendly greetings you asked him to bring.

The national democratic revolutionary struggle of the Cuban people has received the praise and respect of the people of the whole world. The heroic Cuban people, through long and arduous struggle, overthrew the reactionary dictatorial rule of the running dogs of imperialism. After the victory of the revolution, you have heroically resisted the aggression and threats of U.S. imperialism, and carried out land reform and other reforms that are in line with the interests of the broad masses of the people and necessary for the prosperity of the national economy. You are carrying out a just revolutionary struggle in the region closest to the United States. Every victory of yours is a heavy blow to the reactionary forces of imperialism headed by the United States. The people of the whole world who strive for peace and progress, especially the peoples of Latin American countries, have greatly enhanced their courage to struggle and their confidence in victory from your victorious struggle.

The Chinese people and I myself have always been very concerned about the revolutionary struggle of the Cuban people led by you. The Chinese people, who have long lived in revolutionary struggle, feel a special closeness to your struggle. The same experiences and common struggles have closely linked the peoples of our two countries. In the struggle against U.S. imperialism, we support and encourage each other. We are happy about every achievement, progress, and victory you have made. We are extremely angry at every aggression, bombing, and sabotage you have suffered from the U.S. imperialists. The Chinese people and the Cuban people are comrades-in-arms who share weal and woe. We will continue to support your just cause with our own victorious struggles and all possible assistance.

The victorious outcome of the world people's struggle against imperialism has already been determined. This is an objective law of historical development that is not subject to the subjective will of imperialism and the reactionaries of all countries. Imperialism and the reactionaries of all countries are adopting and preparing to adopt all kinds of ferocious means in an attempt to save themselves from their doom. There are still many difficulties before the peoples of our two countries and before the people of the world. The future struggles of the Cuban people and the peoples of all countries will still be arduous, complex, and tortuous. However, as long as the revolutionary leading cores of all countries extensively unite all forces that can be united and rely on the unremitting struggle of the broadest masses of the people, no force in the world can stop the people from advancing. We firmly believe that the broadest masses of the people of all countries will surely be able to unite most closely, form the broadest united front, overcome all kinds of difficulties on the road forward, and achieve a thorough victory in the just cause of opposing imperialism, opposing the reactionaries of all countries, defending national independence, and striving for social liberation.

Please, respected Prime Minister of Cuba, accept the high respects of the entire Chinese people and myself. I wish you good health! May the friendship between the peoples of China and Cuba grow day by day! I wish the revolutionary cause of the Cuban people even greater victories!

Mao Zedong
May 30, 1960