A few days ago, the People’s Republic of Albania solemnly announced its decision and decree to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact. This is another heavy blow against the Soviet revisionist traitorous clique and a tremendous source of encouragement for the peoples of Eastern Europe in their struggle against this same clique. The Warsaw Pact has long since become a tool used by Khrushchev’s revisionist group to pursue great-power chauvinism and national egoism, to control and plunder the peoples of Eastern Europe. It has also served as an instrument for the Soviet revisionist traitors to strike deals with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which is dominated by U.S. imperialism, thereby advancing the scheme of U.S.-Soviet cooperation to rule the world. Recently, the Soviet revisionist clique, together with its revisionist allies in Poland, East Germany, Hungary, and Bulgaria, brazenly invoked the name of the Warsaw Pact to launch an armed invasion of Czechoslovakia, committing heinous crimes against the Czechoslovak people. This has fully exposed the aggressive and reactionary nature of the pact before the eyes of the entire world. Meanwhile, the Czechoslovak revisionist leadership adopted a treasonous, capitulatory policy toward the aggressors, shamefully betraying the Czechoslovak people. Under the leadership of the Albanian Labour Party headed by its outstanding leader Comrade Enver Hoxha, the Albanian people have long waged a resolute struggle against all the criminal activities perpetrated by the Soviet revisionist traitors under the banner of the Warsaw Pact. The Communist Party of China and the Chinese people deeply admire the high principled stance of the Albanian Labour Party and the Albanian people in this struggle—rooted in Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism.


We firmly support the revolutionary action taken by the People’s Republic of Albania and the fraternal Albanian people in withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact; we firmly support the just struggle of the peoples of Eastern Europe against the Warsaw Pact controlled by Soviet revisionism; we firmly support the just struggles of the peoples of Western Europe and around the globe against the North Atlantic Treaty and other aggressive treaty organizations dominated by U.S. imperialism; and we firmly support the revolutionary struggles of all peoples worldwide who are being invaded, controlled, enslaved, and threatened by U.S. imperialism and Soviet revisionism.


The great proletarian combat friendship forged between the peoples of China and Albania amid the storms of revolution has stood the test of time. The 700 million Chinese people, further tempered in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, will at all times and under any circumstances remain steadfastly on the side of our fraternal Albanian comrades. Should U.S. imperialism, modern Soviet revisionism, or their lackeys dare lay a finger on Albania, they can only expect utter, shameful, and irreversible defeat.


Dear comrades, Soviet revisionism and U.S. imperialism have colluded to commit so many evil and disgraceful acts that the revolutionary peoples of the world will never forgive them. The peoples of all countries are rising up. A new historical era of resistance against U.S. imperialism and Soviet revisionism has begun. Let us raise even higher the revolutionary red banner of Marxism-Leninism and advance hand in hand in the great struggle against imperialism led by U.S. imperialism, against modern revisionism led by Soviet revisionism, and against all the reactionary forces that follow in their wake!


Long live the great, unbreakable combat friendship between the peoples of China and Albania!


Long live the heroic Albanian people!


Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Lin Biao, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Zhou Enlai, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China
Beijing, September 17, 1968