A Passage on War and Peace
(February 23, 1976)
The United States has interests to safeguard around the world, while the Soviet Union seeks expansion; these realities cannot be changed. In an era when classes exist, war is a phenomenon that occurs between two periods of peace. War is the continuation of politics, which means it is the continuation of peace. Peace, in essence, is politics. [1]
Notes
Printed in the People’s Daily on August 23, 1977.
[1] This passage was spoken by Mao Zedong during his meeting with former U.S. President Richard Nixon on February 23, 1976. Hua Guofeng, Chairman of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, quoted these words in bold type in his political report to the Eleventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China, delivered on August 12, 1977. The report was adopted at the congress on August 18 and published in the People’s Daily on August 23.