Chapter Eighty-Seven: Great Power Politics I
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Rost came as a U.S. special envoy.
Rost handed Acheson's letter to Zhou Enlai, in which he affirmed the contents of the memorandum on Sino-US relations, and hoped to end the state of war between the two sides as soon as possible, and to determine it in the form of a document. If these can be determined, he will come to China to sign this document.
During this period, US Assistant Secretary of State Rost and Li Dawei held a seven-day secret meeting on issues on which no agreement was reached last time, and before the secret talks, the two sides exchanged letters of authorization for the political axes of the two countries.
On this issue, the United States agreed that China should pay war reparations to China, and that China would dismantle its heavy industry and equipment manufacturing industry. The specific compensation matters shall be negotiated between the Chinese side and the United States, and the United States will not interfere. China recognizes the special status and role of the United States in Libon and has no objection to retaining all US military bases in Benz. It was agreed to retain a naval force with a total tonal capacity of less than 40,000 tons and a naval base south of the 37th parallel. Air base south of the 37th parallel. Both sides oppose the re-intervention of a third party in matters related to the DPRK. and exchange information on this.
The United States agreed to withdraw all personnel and military equipment stationed in Taiwan before June 30, 1951, hoping that the two sides of the strait could resolve the Taiwan issue through peaceful means.
Li Dawei said: "You hope for the peaceful liberation of Taiwan, but we can only say that we are striving for peaceful liberation. Because these are two things, we want to liberate peacefully, what if Chiang Kai-shek doesn't do it? On January 1, our Prime Minister issued a 10-point policy for the peaceful settlement of the Taiwan issue. Are they showing enough sincerity?"
The United States agreed to hand over the administration of the Ryukyu Islands to China on June 30, 1951. The Chinese People's Armed Police Force was stationed in the Ryukyu Islands at 0:00 on July 1, 1951 to exercise sovereignty. China undertakes to under no circumstances allow third countries to establish military bases and military facilities in any area of China, including the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, stationing military personnel.
China promised to begin repatriating all American prisoners of war on July 1, 1951. China expressed its willingness to coordinate relations between the DPRK and the United States and resolve the issue of prisoners of war between the two sides as soon as possible. The two sides agreed to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. We will not support either side of the Korean Peninsula or undermine the stable relations that have been established on the Korean Peninsula.
The two sides pledged not to harm each other's core interests. China recognizes the special role of the United States in Europe and guarantees to maintain a neutral position in a possible conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union.
The parties agreed that this document would not be declassified for fifty years.
In the end, on behalf of the political axes of the two countries, the two sides signed this top-secret "Sino-US Yenching Secret Treaty".
Subsequently, Zhou Enlai also replied to Acheson's letter: agreeing in principle to the contents of the memorandum on Sino-US relations. Welcome Secretary of State Acheson to visit China at a convenient time.
Rost also exchanged views with the Chinese side on some specific issues of Acheson's visit to China.
Before returning home, Zhou Enlai accompanied the supreme leader to meet with the US special envoy Rost.
During the meeting, the supreme leader talked and laughed and was witty and humorous. After some greetings, the supreme chief said to Rost: If you come to China this time, the whole world will be shaken. Rost replied with a smile: "It was history that chose me to hold the hands of two great nations together. I am very grateful to the great China. Thank you for your meeting."
The supreme chief said: "The Chinese value peace. We signed the "Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance" with the Soviet Union in February last year, and you Americans have some ideas about this, so they have launched a three-pronged attack on us, one is North Korea, one is Taiwan, and the other is Vietnam. We have a border line of several thousand kilometers with the Soviet Union, and we have fixed the friendly and cooperative relations between China and the Soviet Union in the form of a treaty. We are a new country, and there are many difficulties, so if something happens, we also have a helper, so that we can let go of the domestic construction work." Zhou Enlai also smiled and said to Rost: "But we can't blame you, the international community generally believes that socialist countries are monolithic, and Western countries are also monolithic, and now we know that this is not the case."
The supreme chief went on to say, "So you Americans don't be nervous. The United States is a big country, and there are a bunch of little brothers, and if there is no peace, everyone will not be at peace. You want peace, we will negotiate, and this time you have a good talk. It's better to talk than to fight. We need a peaceful environment, we need friends.In June '49, Stuart Redentto sent me a message saying that the United States could lend $5 billion at a time to the New Deal, on the condition that New China must adopt a middle attitude and not be completely pro-Soviet. On 15 March last year, your Secretary of State Acheson also said in his speech on US policy toward China: China should receive loans and assistance from the United States instead of the Soviet Union, but China must maintain Sino-US relations as it used to be. The Supreme Chief took a puff of his cigarette and continued: "We need help, but this kind of help with strings attached. The Chinese pay attention to the knowledge of grace and mapping, as soon as you respect me a foot, I respect you a zhang, you bring conditions are not help, then it becomes a deal. He dusted his cigarette ash into the ashtray and continued, "In the past, there was a lack of communication between the two of us and there was no channel of communication. It's also normal that there are some misunderstandings on both sides. That's fine. If you don't fight, you can't make a deal. After a little hit, it brought us together. Bad things become good things. You go back and tell President Truman that no matter what capacity he comes, I will weetochina at any time."
Reporting to Secretaries of State Acheson and Truman upon his return, Rost said of Ren Xiang, the supreme leader of China: "I have never met a man with such a highly concentrated, undisguised willpower, and in him he exudes an overwhelming force that you can feel."
On March 23, 1951, U.S. Secretary of State Acheson visited China and exchanged views with the Chinese side on ending the state of war in Korea, Sino-US relations, and international issues of common concern. The Chinese side highly praised President Truman and Secretary of State Acheson for following the trend of history, breaking down the boundaries in the ideological field and establishing a new model of international relations.
U.S. Secretary of State Acheson climbed down the pole and said, "A great helmsman must go with the flow, or he will drown."
When the two sides talked about the issue of US troops stationed in Asia, Zhou Enlai emphatically said: "For more than 100 years, China has suffered greatly from the aggression of the Eastern and Western powers, and China will not invade any country now and will not invade any country in the future, and China will never seek hegemony. China will never have a single soldier abroad."
"The United States has no territorial ambitions for Asia, and he is convinced that China has no territorial ambitions for the United States either," Acheson said. This is the basis for the establishment of cooperative relations between the two countries. However, Acheson believed that in some areas, such as Ben, if the United States withdraws, there will be a "vacuum" and the Soviet Union will take advantage of the loopholes.
After four days of talks, the two sides issued a vague communiqué on the basis of the Memorandum on China-US Relations and the Secret Treaty between China and the United States in Yanjing, covering up all the substantive issues.
There is some disagreement between the two sides on how to write the joint communiqué, with China believing that it would be sufficient to make all issues clear in the communiqué, while the United States has repeatedly insisted on issuing a vague communiqué. They believe that when state-to-state meetings do not affect the future of the world, we can write all the issues clearly. But our talks are watched by the whole world, and they will have a huge impact on the whole world, and that impact will last for many years. It would be irresponsible for such talks if we were to do that, and it would also cause intense turmoil in the whole world. And that's how it often happens among the great powers.