Mao Zedong’s Comment on Huan Xiang’s Analysis and Prospects of the International Situation After the Collapse of the Four-Power Summit Conference

(June 7, 1960)

Distribute to all comrades attending the Shanghai Conference [2]. This document speaks very well.

Mao Zedong
June 7
Printed from the manuscript.

**Notes**
[1] In a telegram to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated May 28, 1960, Huan Xiang, China’s Chargé d’Affaires in the United Kingdom, provided an analysis and prospects of the international situation following the collapse of the Soviet-U.S.-British-French Four-Power Summit Conference. The main points were:
(1) From the incident of the U.S. aircraft intruding into Soviet airspace to the collapse of the Paris Four-Power Summit Conference, the 19 days of tortuous and sharp struggle thoroughly exposed the nonsense that “Eisenhower is a grandfather of peace” and deeply criticized the erroneous policies prevalent internationally over the past year of harboring illusions about Western imperialism and abandoning struggle. This served as an extremely powerful and vivid lesson for people worldwide striving for peace and greatly inspired the struggle against imperialism and the United States.
(2) Over these 19 days, the Soviet Union’s policy toward U.S. imperialism gradually shifted from simple conciliation and appeasement to resolute exposure and tough struggle, primarily driven step by step by the aggressive advances of U.S. imperialism.
(3) After the summit conference broke up, Khrushchev’s attitude suddenly softened again. Based on this situation, it can be inferred that the shift in the Soviet Union’s struggle strategy was mainly a logical outcome of the development of the spy plane incident itself, rather than a truly comprehensive and profound new understanding of fundamental issues such as the nature of imperialism, war, and peace. Therefore, vacillation and hesitation may not be avoidable in the short term. However, the possibility of a gradual shift must also be recognized.
(4) This struggle caused the United States to lose great face worldwide, further shaking the leadership position of U.S. imperialism within the Western camp, intensifying contradictions among the imperialists, and triggering chaos and quarrels within the Western camp.
(5) The Soviet Union’s struggle also deepened the chaos and quarrels within the imperialist countries.
(6) The West greatly fears that the impact of this struggle will further strengthen the unity of the socialist camp, especially between China and the Soviet Union. Therefore, it is directing the spearhead of the Cold War primarily at China, with the key focus of the Cold War being to intensify efforts to sow discord in Sino-Soviet relations. Under these circumstances, we should handle issues related to Sino-Soviet relations with great prudence.

[2] This refers to the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party to be held in Shanghai. The meeting took place from June 14 to 18, 1960.