On July 7, Chairman Mao met with all participants of the ×××× Conference. After listening to the report, he said: “We have developed new weapons—missiles and atomic bombs—at a rapid pace. In just two years and eight months, we produced a hydrogen bomb. Our rate of development has surpassed that of the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, and France, placing us fourth in the world. Significant achievements have been made in missile and atomic-bomb technology, and this is largely due to Khrushchev’s ‘help’—by withdrawing his experts, he forced us to follow our own path. We should award him a one-ton medal for this.”

After hearing the report, Chairman Mao felt that ×× was far too backward and that its forces were extremely small. He remarked: “The current situation is very favorable. The Nagas in India are opposing the Congress Party and engaging in armed struggle. In Indonesia, the Communist Party has purged revisionism and is once again gaining strength. Myanmar’s guerrilla forces have expanded considerably, with a stronger base than Thailand’s armed movement; they have been active for several decades, though previously the party was divided into the Red Flag faction and the White Flag faction. Now, however, it has been unified. There is unanimous opposition to Ne Win, and armed operations now cover sixty percent of Myanmar’s territory. Myanmar’s geographical conditions are even more advantageous than South Vietnam’s, offering a larger maneuvering area. Thailand also enjoys favorable geography. If both Myanmar and Thailand rise up, they will completely tie down U.S. forces in Southeast Asia. Of course, we must also prepare to fight an early and large-scale war on our own soil. It is actually better that the Burmese government opposes us; we hope it will sever diplomatic relations with us, which would allow us to support the Burmese Communist Party more openly. Such is the situation in Asia. Armed struggles are also flourishing in Africa and Latin America. U.S. imperialism is becoming increasingly isolated, and people around the world recognize it as the chief culprit of war. Both the global populace and the American people are opposed to it. Soviet revisionism has likewise been further exposed, especially during the recent Middle East crisis, when the Soviet revisionists once again resorted to Khrushchev’s old tactics. Initially, they dispatched over two thousand military experts to the United Arab Republic, adopting a reckless approach by sending warships there and persuading the UAR not to launch a preemptive strike. At the same time, Khrushchev used the hotline to inform President Johnson (though the hotline had not yet been established at that time). Johnson promptly relayed this message to Israel, enabling it to launch a surprise attack that destroyed sixty percent of the UAR’s aircraft while they were still on the ground. The Soviet Union had provided a total of 3.3 billion dollars in aid to the UAR, but after losing two billion in this debacle, the UAR ultimately surrendered and agreed to a ceasefire. This represents another major exposure of national betrayal—not only by the Soviet Union, but also by Arab states. Countries in Asia and Latin America have all voiced their opposition. The suicide of a seventy-year-old Soviet citizen is itself a manifestation of discontent. Shortly after the Middle East War, the Soviet Union convened three conferences of Eastern European countries. Romania refused to sign the agreements and did not break off diplomatic relations with Israel. Later, Maureer came to China seeking comprehensive economic cooperation with us. While we could engage in individual economic projects, we would not enter into a full-fledged cooperative arrangement. Imperialism and revisionism are growing ever more isolated. The Vietnam War must continue. Although many places are currently hostile toward China, giving the appearance of our isolation, their anti-China stance actually stems from fear of China’s influence—fear of Mao Zedong Thought and the Cultural Revolution. Such hostility serves to suppress domestic dissent and divert public attention away from dissatisfaction with their own regimes. This anti-China campaign is jointly orchestrated by U.S. imperialism and Soviet revisionism; it does not indicate our isolation, but rather reflects the tremendous increase in our global influence. The more they oppose us, the more they promote revolutionary consciousness among their peoples, who are coming to realize that the Chinese path is the sole road to liberation. China must not only remain the political center of the world revolution, but also become its military and technological hub, supplying weapons to revolutionary movements. We can now openly provide such arms—weapons inscribed with relevant messages (except in certain special regions)—to demonstrate our open support and transform ourselves into the arsenal of the world revolution. However, we still have many technical challenges to overcome.”

The Chairman added: “We must also vigorously strengthen work related to ××, ×××, and ××××. The Premier has criticized the ‘backwardness of the Fourth Ministry,’ and the Fourth Ministry must catch up significantly.”

(As conveyed by the Military Management Committee of the Fourth Ministry)