V. Adhering to an Independent Foreign Policy

CHINA's future is closely bound up with that of the world as a whole. The successes China has achieved in its revolution and construction provide a powerful support to the world's movement for progress and a bright future, and conversely, our successes would have been impossible without the struggles of the people of other countries for a bright future. China has received help from other countries and peoples, and in turn has helped others. In the early years of our People's Republic, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: "Our general task is to unite the whole people and win the support of all our friends abroad in the struggle to build a great socialist country, defend world peace and advance the cause of human progress.[注释8]Integration of patriotism with internationalism has always been our basic point of departure in handling our external relations.

Being patriots, we do not tolerate any encroachment on China's national dignity or interests. Being internationalists, we are deeply aware that China's national interests cannot be fully realized in separation from the overall interests of mankind. Our adherence to an independent foreign policy accords with the discharging of our lofty international duty to safeguard world peace and promote human progress. In the 33 years since the founding of our People's Republic, we have shown the world by deeds that China never attaches itself to any big power or group of powers, and never yields to pressure from any big power. China's foreign policy is based on the scientific theories of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, and it proceeds from the fundamental interests of the people of China and the rest of the world. It follows an overall long-term strategy, and is definitely not swayed by expediency or by anybody's instigation or provocation. Because we have firmly applied the basic principles of our foreign policy formulated by the late Comrades Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, socialist New China has gained prestige, made friends throughout the world and maintained its dignity in its relations with foreign countries.

The five principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence have consistently guided China in its effort to develop relations with other countries. Having suffered aggression and oppression for over a century, the Chinese people will never again allow themselves to be humiliated as they were before, nor will they subject other nations to such humiliation. The founding of our People's Republic has removed the social causes both of China's submission to foreign aggression and of any possibility of China committing aggression abroad. Frederick Engels said: "A nation cannot become free and at the same time continue to oppress other nations.[注释9] This is an incontestable truth. We Marxist-Leninists are convinced that communism will ultimately be realized throughout the world. However, revolution cannot be exported but can occur only by the choice of the people of the country concerned. It is on the basis of this understanding that we have always abided by the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. We do not station a single soldier abroad, nor have we occupied a single inch of foreign land. We have never infringed upon the sovereignty of another country, or imposed an unequal relationship upon it. In no circumstances will we seek hegemony.

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are applicable to our relations with all countries, including socialist countries. On the basis of these principles we have in the past 33 years established diplomatic relations with 125 countries. With the friendly socialist countries of Korea, Romania and Yugoslavia we maintain close co-operation and are steadily strengthening and developing ties of unity and friendship. China and many other developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America sympathize with and support one another, and have enhanced their co-operation in all fields. Many Western countries have social systems different from China's, yet we share a common desire to safeguard world peace and a common interest in developing our economic and cultural co-operation, for which the potentials are great, and we have maintained good relations over the years. The past few years have also seen some development in our relations with East European countries.

Japan is China's neighbour. Since ancient times, there have been frequent exchanges and a profound friendship between the Chinese and Japanese peoples. But, during 100 years of modern history, the Japanese militarists unleashed one war of aggression after another against China, inflicting colossal calamities on the Chinese people and grievous damage on the Japanese people themselves. Thanks to long years of joint efforts made by the Chinese and Japanese peoples, state relations were eventually normalized 10 years ago. The development of relations of peace and friendship, equality and mutual benefit, and prolonged stability between China and Japan is in accord with the long-term interests of the two peoples and conducive to the peace and stability of the Asian-Pacific region. Now some forces in Japan are whitewashing the past Japanese aggressions against China and other East Asian countries and are carrying out activities for the revival of Japanese militarism. These dangerous developments cannot'but put the people of China, Japan and other countries sharply on the alert. Together with the Japanese people and with far-sighted Japanese public figures in and out of government, we will work to eliminate all hindrances to the relations between our two countries and make the friendship between our two peoples flourish from generation to generation.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the United States of America in 1979, relations between the two countries have developed in the interests of the two peoples. We have always hoped that these relations will continue to grow, and consider this beneficial to our two peoples and to world peace. However, a cloud has all along hung over the relations between the two countries. This is because the United States, despite having recognized that the Government of the People's Republic of China is China's sole legal government and that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of China, has passed the Taiwan Relations Act which contravenes the principles embodied in the joint communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations, and it has continued to sell arms to Taiwan, treating Taiwan as an independent political entity. As the Chinese Government has repeatedly stated, these are acts of infringement on China's sovereignty and of interference in China's internal affairs. Not long ago, after nearly a year of talks, the Chinese and US Governments issued a joint communique providing for a step-by-step solution of the question of US arms sales to Taiwan, leading to a final thorough settlement. We hope that these provisions will be strictly observed. Sino-US relations can continue to develop soundly only if the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in each other's internal affairs are truly adhered to.

The relations between China and the Soviet Union were friendly over a fairly long period. They have become what they are today because the Soviet Union has pursued a hegemonist policy. For the past 20 years, the Soviet Union has stationed massive armed forces along the Sino-Soviet and Sino-Mongolian borders. It has supported Viet Nam in the latter's invasion and occupation of Kampuchea, acts of expansion in Indochina and Southeast Asia and constant provocations along China's border. Moreover, it has invaded and occupied Afghanistan, a neighbour of China, by force of arms. All these acts constitute grave threats to the peace of Asia and to China's security. We note that Soviet leaders have expressed more than once the desire to improve relations with China. But deeds, rather than words, are important. If the Soviet authorities really have a sincere desire to improve relations with China and take practical steps to lift their threat to the security of our country, it will be possible for Sino-Soviet relations to move towards normalization. The friendship between the Chinese and Soviet peoples is of long standing, and we will strive to safeguard and develop this friendship, no matter what Sino-Soviet state relations are like.

The main forces jeopardizing peaceful coexistence among nations today are imperialism, hegemonism and colonialism. True, the old system of colonialism has disintegrated with the successive winning of independence by nearly 100 former colonial and semi-colonial countries. Yet its remnants are far from being eliminated. The superpowers that practise hege-monism pose a new threat to the people of the world. In their pursuit of global domination, the superpowers have been contending on a worldwide scale with military power far exceeding that of any other countries. This is the main source of instability and turmoil in the world. The most important task for the people of the world today is to oppose hegemonism and safeguard world peace. Due to the rivalry between the superpowers, the danger of a world war is growing ever greater. However, experience shows that the people of the world, by persevering in struggle, can upset the strategic plans of the superpowers. World peace can be safeguarded, provided the people truly unite and fight resolutely against all expressions of hegemonism and expansionism. We have always firmly opposed the arms race between the superpowers, stood for the prohibition of the use of nuclear weapons and for their complete destruction and demanded that the superpowers be the first to cut their nuclear and conventional arsenals drastically. We are against the world war being fomented by the superpowers and also against all the local wars of aggression which they instigate or back. We have always firmly supported all victim countries and peoples in their struggle against aggression. We support the Korean people in their struggle to reunify their fatherland. We support the Kampuchean people led by the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea in their struggle against Vietnamese aggression. We support the people of Afghanistan in their struggle against Soviet aggression. We support the African people in their struggle against South Africa's racism and expansionism. We strongly condemn Israel for its heinous aggression and atrocities against the people of Palestine and Lebanon. With support and protection from the US hege-monists, Israel has outrageously occupied Palestine and carried out repeated armed aggression against Arab countries, posing a grave threat to peace in the Middle East and the world as a whole. We continue our resolute support for the Palestinian people in their struggle to return to their homeland and to found their own state and for other Arab peoples in their struggle against Israeli expansionism.

Socialist China belongs to the third world. China has experienced the same sufferings as most other third world countries, and she is faced with similar problems and tasks. China regards it as her sacred international duty to struggle resolutely against imperialism, hege-monism and colonialism together with the other third world countries.

The emergence of the third world on the international arena after World War II is a primary event of our time. It has changed the United Nations from a mere voting machine manipulated by certain big powers into a forum where imperialism, hegemonism and expansionism are often justly condemned. The struggle initiated by Latin American countries against the maritime hegemony of the superpowers and the struggles of the petroleum exporting countries and other raw material producing countries for permanent sovereignty over their own natural resources, the struggle of the non-aligned countries against power politics and bloc politics and the struggles of the developing countries for the establishment of a new international economic order - all these struggles have converged into a mighty current of forces upholding justice in our time and greatly changed the situation in which the superpowers could wilfully manipulate the fate of the world.

The common task confronting the third world countries is, first and foremost, to defend their national independence and state sovereignty and actively develop their national economies so that they can back up the political independence they have already won with economic independence. Here, mutual aid among third world countries is of particular importance. We third world countries have vast territories, large populations, immense resources and extensive markets. Some of us have accumulated considerable funds, and many have acquired their own distinctive technologies and gained experience in developing their national economies which the others can learn from. Our mutual economic co-operation, commonly known as "South-South co-operation," is no less effective than our co-operation with developed countries so far as some kinds of our technology and equipment are concerned in meeting mutual needs. Such co-operation is of great strategic significance, as it helps us to break out of the existing unequal international economic relations and establish the new international economic order.

China is still a developing country, but we have always done our best to help other third world countries, with whom we share a common destiny. The Chinese people have always spurned attitudes and actions of despising the poor and currying favour with the rich, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Our friendship with other third world countries is sincere. Whether in providing aid or co-operating for mutual benefit, we have always strictly respected the sovereignty of the other party, attaching no strings and demanding no privileges. As our economy grows, we will steadily expand our friendly co-operation with other countries and peoples of the third world.

We are deeply disturbed by the discords, going as far as armed conflicts, that have occurred between some third world countries. They often cause heavy losses to both sides and at times allow the hegemonists to pick up easy gains. We always work for increased unity among the third world countries in the hope that the parties to such disputes will resolve them through consultations and avoid any results that grieve friends and gladden enemies.

Here I would especially like to discuss the question of relationships between the Communist Party of China and those of other countries. Our Party develops its relations with other Communist or working-class parties in strict conformity with Marxism and the principles of independence, complete equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs.

The success of the revolution in any country depends on the ripeness of conditions for it and the people's support for the line and policies of that country's Communist Party. Communist Parties should of course help each other, but it is absolutely impermissible for any of them to issue orders or run things for others from the outside. Any attempt by one Party to impose its views on other Parties or interfere in their internal affairs can only lead to setbacks or failures in the revolutions of the countries concerned. As for the practice of one Party compelling other Parties to make their policies serve its own Party and state policies, or even resorting to armed intervention in other countries, it can only undermine the very foundation of the international communist movement.

The Communist Parties of all countries are equal. Whether large or small, long or short in their history, in power or out of power, they cannot be divided into superior and inferior Parties. Our Party has suffered from the attempt of a self-elevated paternal party to keep us under control. As is commonly known, it is through resisting such control that our independent external policy has won its successes.

We hold that all Communist Parties should respect each other. Each Party has its strong and weak points. Being situated in different circumstances, all Parties cannot be expected to hold completely identical views on the assessment of situations and on their own tasks. Their differences of opinion can only be resolved gradually through friendly consultations and patiently giving each other time. We are in favour of all Communist Parties learning from each other's successes and failures, believing that this will help the international communist movement to grow and flourish.

On the principles mentioned above, our Party has maintained friendly relations with many other Communist Parties. We sincerely appreciate their support and help and are conscientiously learning from their experience whatever can be of help to our revolution and construction. And we wish to establish similar contacts with a greater number of progressive parties and organizations. Setting store by their friendship with the people of other countries, the Chinese people have developed extensive contacts with them. In the final analysis, steadily increasing understanding and co-operation among the people of all countries is the basic guarantee of progress and a bright future for the world.

Being a large country with a population of one billion, China ought to make a greater contribution to the world community, and it is only natural that people place hopes on us. Yet what we have accomplished falls far short of what we ought to have done. We will redouble our efforts to step up our construction so as to play our due role in safeguarding world peace and promoting human progress.