Talk With Nepal's King Mahendra And The Queen

Date: 1961-10-05
Source: en:FLP-Diplomacy
TALK WITH NEPAL'S KING MAHENDRA
AND THE QUEEN
(October 5, 1961)
Chairman Mao Zedong (hereinafter referred to as Mao): How is every
thing with Your Excellency? Have all the problems been solved?
Mahendra BirBikram Shah Deva (hereinafter referred to as Mahendra):
Everything is settled.
Mao: Fair and reasonable?
Mahendra: Yes. We all agree.
Mao: It is good that we agree. There is goodwill on both sides. We hope
that you will get along well, and you hope we shall get along well too. We do
not want to harm you, nor do you want to harm us.
Mahendra: We fully understand.
Mao: We are equals; we cannot say one country is superior or inferior to
the other.
Mahendra: We very much appreciate that way of speaking.
Mao: One ought not to treat other countries unequally. We call it
great-nation chauvinism. We educate our Party members and the people not
to commit the mistake of great-nation chauvinism. Sometimes there are still
problems, such as some cadres treating others with a superior attitude. We have
carried out education among them and taken disciplinary measures, so as to
help them overcome their shortcomings. Our country is a mixture of all sorts
of things: old and new, backward and advanced.
Mahendra: China is a vast country.
Mao: Many traces of backwardness can still be found. Take agriculture,
for example. It is a backward sector with very few tractors; mechanization will
take quite a few years. The handicraft industry is the main one. We are
beginning to have a little modern industry, not much yet. The old society left
us too little 12 years ago. In fact, imperialism dominated us for over 100 years
and took things away without construction. Take iron and steel, for example.
From the Qing Dynasty to the defeat of Chiang Kai-shek the annual output
of steel during this period was only 40,000 tons in Chiang Kai-shek's areas.
One may say we did not have iron and steel, nor did we have a machine
building industry, nor any geological work. At that time we had just over 200
geological workers, but now we have more than 100,000. It is not easy to
discover underground treasures, and at present we do not know what minerals
we have. We have to drill wells as deep as one kilometer, two or three
kilometers or even deeper, which is beyond any handicraft industry. It needs
drilling machines and trained technicians. Oil drilling is just like this;
otherwise, we shall have to rely on imported oil. It is the same with things
such as coal, iron and nonferrous metals. So we shall develop agriculture and
animal husbandry to solve the problem of food and clothing and also go in
for heavy industry. Without heavy industry there won't be any steel or
machines. It won't do. Your country has a big area.
Mahendra: About 140,000 square kilometers.
Mao: And the population is not small.
Mahendra: About nine million.
Mao: More than that of Australia. I hope you will do a good job in your
construction and get richer and stronger every day.
Mahendra: We are making efforts in our development and seeking aid
from friendly countries such as China. I hope to talk with Premier Zhou Enlai
on our trip.
Mao: Good. Have another talk. With time your country will get along
well. Everything in the world develops from nothing to something, from few
to many. You are hopeful and your future is bright, but it takes time. You will
be more hopeful in a few decades. Our country is still a poor country, but we

--- Notes

shall fare better in at least several decades. Marshal Montgomery said that
it would take 50 years. I said that it would take 50 to 100 years. A century is
not long. It took some ages for Europe and America to develop to today's level.
It will be good if it takes China a century to surpass them.
(From the verbatim record)