Notes by Chuan on the Draft Reply from the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union
(July 11, 1965)
Comrades Kang Sheng and Leng Xi [2]:
I have read this document; it is very well written.
Mao Zedong
July 11
Chuan
The draft reply issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on July 10, 1965, logically refuted the attacks and slanders contained in the letter dated April 17, 1965, from the CPSU Central Committee and the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, which criticized China’s refusal to hold a trilateral summit meeting among Vietnam, China, and the Soviet Union. The draft pointed out: “We have carefully observed your various activities concerning the Vietnamese issue over the past few months and conclude that, with regard to Vietnam, you are practicing appeasement toward the United States, attempting to make political deals with U.S. imperialism and thereby betraying the interests of the Vietnamese people’s liberation cause; at the same time, you are engaging in great-power chauvinism toward fraternal countries, seeking military control and trying to force us onto your chariot of U.S.-Soviet cooperation dominating the world. Your proposal on April 3 to convene a trilateral summit among Vietnam, China, and the Soviet Union is an important step in implementing this very line.” The draft also rebuked the Soviet side’s claim that differences should be set aside and joint action taken, stating: “What you call ‘joint action’ actually means that fraternal parties must obey the commands of your ‘elder brother’ party, and that fraternal parties and countries are to become tools for carrying out your policy of U.S.-Soviet cooperation ruling the world.”
[2]
Kang Sheng was then an alternate member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and a secretary of the Secretariat. Leng Xi refers to Wu Lengxi, who at that time served as president of the Xinhua News Agency and editor-in-chief of People’s Daily.