The international situation today is very good, it is very good, not just good or fairly good. In the last few years, the revolutionary struggle of the international proletariat, the liberation struggles of the oppressed people and nations and the revolutionary mass movements in many countries have been forging ahead. More countries have cast off the shackles of colonialism, driven out foreign aggressors and won independence and liberation. The international united front against aggression, interference, subversion, control and bullying by the superpowers is broadening. Both the hegemonic powers, the Soviet Union and the United States, are beset with difficulties and crises and are having a harder and harder time. This is particularly true of Soviet social-imperialism. In the last few years, it has further betrayed its aggressive and expansionist features by sabotaging the wars of Arab countries and the Palestinian people against Israeli aggression, employing mercenary troops to intervene in Angola and invade Zaire, plotting to subvert the government of the Sudan, interfering in the internal affairs of many countries, sowing dissension among third world countries and undermining their unity. It has suffered one telling blow after another. As facts have shown, the main trend in the international situation is that countries want independence, nations want liberation and the people want revolution, and this no force can ever stem.

At the same time as the factors for revolution are growing, so obviously are the factors for war. In recent years Chairman Mao repeatedly reminded people of this fact. At the beginning of last year, he pointed out: "The United States wants to protect its interests in the world and the Soviet Union wants to expand; this can in no way be changed. In the era in which classes exist, war is an interval between one peace and another. War is a continuation of politics, that is to say, a continuation of peace. Peace itself is politics." Both superpowers strive to dominate the world, and they contend with each other everywhere, causing much turbulence in the world. Their continued contention will lead to a conflagration someday. They preach "detente" everywhere, but the more they preach it, the less the detente. They clamour for "disarmament," but the greater their clamour, the greater their armament. They talk about "peace" every day, but actually they are preparing for war all the time. The people of the world hope for peace, and the Chinese people too hope for a peaceful international environment. It is not the people of different countries or the people of China but the superpowers that want war. This is determined by their imperialist nature and is therefore independent of man's will. Imperialism means aggression, imperialism means war. As Chairman Mao taught us, so long as the social system in the imperialist and social-imperialist countries remains unchanged, war is inevitable - either a war between them or a revolution by the people, and there cannot be any lasting peace.

The Soviet Union and the United States are the source of a new world war, and Soviet social-imperialism in particular presents the greater danger. The current strategic situation in their contention is that Soviet social-imperialism is on the offensive and. U.S. imperialism on the defensive. While waving the banners of "socialism," "support for national liberation" and "peace and co-operation," the Soviet revisionists are working overtime to push their global "offensive strategy." They want to pocket all Europe, Asia and Africa. Soviet-U.S. contention extends to every corner of the world, but its focus is still Europe. The Soviet Union has massed its troops in Eastern Europe and at the same time accelerated its plunder of strategic resources and its scramble for strategic bases in Africa and the Middle East in an attempt to encircle Europe from the flanks by seizing the Persian Gulf in the east, thrusting round the Cape of Good Hope in the south and blocking the main navigation routes of the Atlantic Ocean in the west. There is a trend towards appeasement among those people in the West who cherish the illusion that peace can be maintained through compromises and concessions, and some even want to follow in Chamberlain's footsteps and try to divert the peril of the new tsars towards the East in order to preserve themselves at the expense of others. In so doing they will merely abet the expansionist ambitions of the Soviet revisionists and hasten the outbreak of war, thus lifting a rock only to drop it on their own feet.

Chairman Mao taught us two points concerning world war: "First, we are against it; second, we are not afraid of it." Soviet revisionism and U.S. imperialism are both paper tigers, there is nothing terrifying about them. With all its wild ambitions, in essence Soviet social-imperialism is weak. Engaging in aggression and expansion everywhere and setting itself against the people of all countries, it serves as a good teacher by negative example. So long as the people of all countries heighten their vigilance, close their ranks, get prepared and wage unrelenting struggles, they may be able to put off the outbreak of war, or will find themselves in a favourable position when war does break out. We are revolutionary optimists and have full confidence in the future of the world.

Chairman Mao's thesis differentiating the three worlds which he set forth in 1974 is of profound and far-reaching significance. Applying the method of class analysis, he studied the changes in the development of the basic contradictions in the contemporary world, the division and realignment of the different political forces and the political and economic status of each country in the international context, and in consequence arrived at this scientific conclusion regarding the present-day strategic situation in the world. The two hegemonic powers, the Soviet Union and the United States, are the biggest international exploiters and oppressors of today and the common enemies of the people of the world. The third world countries suffer the worst oppression and hence put up the strongest resistance; they are the main force combating imperialism, colonialism and hegemonism. The second world countries have a dual character; on the one hand they oppress, exploit and control the third world countries, and on the other they are controlled, threatened and bullied by both hegemonic powers in varying degrees. Chairman Mao's thesis differentiating the three worlds gives a correct orientation to the present international struggle and clearly defines the main revolutionary forces, the chief enemies, and the middle forces that can be won over and united, enabling the international proletariat to unite with all the forces that can be united to form the broadest united front in class struggles against the chief enemies on the world arena. This strategic formulation conforms to the strategic requirements of the contemporary struggles of the international proletariat and the oppressed people and nations of the world and also of the struggle for the triumph of socialism and communism. It is the correct strategic and tactical formulation for the world proletariat in the present era and its class line in its international struggle. Practice in the last few years has proved that this thesis of Chairman Mao's is entirely correct. With the passage of time, it will demonstrate its effectiveness even more powerfully.

Historical experience has repeatedly shown that victory in a revolution depends chiefly on the people's own strength, but at the same time it is necessary to win over as many allies as possible. Lenin said: "The more powerful enemy can be vanquished only by exerting the utmost effort, and most thoroughly, carefully, attentively and skilfully making usewithout failof every, even the smallest, 'rift' among the enemies, of every antagonism of interest among the bourgeoisie of the various countries and among the various groups or types of bourgeoisie within the various countries, and also by taking advantage of every, even the smallest, opportunity of gaining a mass ally, even though this ally be temporary, vacillating, unstable, unreliable and conditional. Those who fail to understand this, fail to understand even a particle of Marxism, or of scientific, modern Socialismin general." Both theoretically and practically, this Marxist principle is of enormous and immediate significance to the present-day struggle of the people of the world against hegemonism.

Chairman Mao consistently taught us that the people who have triumphed in their own revolution should help those still struggling for liberation. We support the Communist Parties of all countries but not revisionism. Being Communists, we of course support the revolutionary struggles of the Communist Parties of all countries. At the same time, we have all along maintained that all Communist Parties are independent and make their own decisions. It is up to the Communist Party in each country to integrate the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of that country's revolution and lead its own people to victory. Revolution cannot be exported. We have never interfered in the internal affairs of other countries. Our Party maintains relations with many Communist Parties. But relations between Parties and relations between states are two different things.

China is a developing socialist country belonging to the third world. We stand firmly with the developing countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America and other regions and staunchly support their just struggle to win and defend national independence, safeguard state sovereignty and develop the national economy.

We support the second world countries, such as the European countries and Japan, in their struggle against control, intimidation and bullying by the superpowers. We support their efforts to get united in the course of this struggle.

China and the United States differ in social system and ideology and there are fundamental differences between them. The Sino-U.S. Shanghai Communique issued in 1972 constitutes the basis for the relations between the two countries at present. It states that neither should seek hegemony and that each is opposed to efforts by any other country or group of countries to establish such hegemony. The relations between the two countries will continue to improve provided the principles laid down in the communique are carried out in earnest. In accordance with the spirit of the communique, if the relations between the two countries are to be normalized, the United States must sever its so-called diplomatic relations with the Chiang clique, withdraw all its armed forces and military installations from Taiwan and the Taiwan Straits area and abrogate its so-called "mutual defence treaty" with the Chiang clique. Taiwan Province is China's sacred territory. We are determined to liberate Taiwan. When and how is entirely China's internal affair, which brooks no foreign interference whatsoever.

The Soviet leading clique has betrayed Marxism-Leninism. Restoring capitalism and enforcing fascist dictatorship at home and pushing hegemonism and perpetrating aggression and expansion abroad, it has brought about the degeneration of the Soviet Union, which has become a social-imperialist country. Our debates with the clique on matters of principle will go on for a long time. We will, of course, continue to wage a tit-for-tat struggle against its hegemonism. At the same time, we have always held that China and the Soviet Union should maintain normal state relations on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. The Soviet leading clique has not shown one iota of good faith about improving the state relations between the two countries. Not only has this clique made it impossible to achieve anything in the negotiations on the Sino-Soviet boundary question, which have been dragging on for eight years now, it has also whipped up one anti-China wave after another to extricate itself from its dilemmas at home and abroad and divert attention by making a feint to the east in order to attack in the west. It has been trying by hook or by crook to force us to change the Marxist-Leninist line laid down by Chairman Mao. This is pure daydreaming. It is the Soviet leading clique and nobody else that has led Sino-Soviet state relations "up a blind alley." If it really has any desire to improve the state relations between the two countries, this clique should prove it by concrete deeds.

The whole Party, army and people must bear in mind Chairman Mao's teaching, "Dig tunnels deep, store grain everywhere, and never seek hegemony," maintain high vigilance and make all preparations against the launching of a new world war by imperialism and social-imperialism. We will not attack unless we are attacked; if we are attacked, we will certainly counterattack. We must be ready at all times to wipe out any enemy that dares to invade. We will never seek hegemony or strive to be a superpower. In our international relations we should get rid of great-nation chauvinism resolutely, thoroughly, wholly and completely.

We should hold high the great banner of Chairman Mao, adhere to proletarian internationalism and continue to carry out his revolutionary line in foreign affairs. We should enhance our unity with the socialist countries and with the proletariat and the oppressed people and nations throughout the world, enhance our unity with the countries of the third world, unite with all countries subjected to. aggression, subversion, interference, control and bullying by imperialism and social-imperialism and form the broadest united front against the hegemonism of the two superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States. We should establish and develop our relations with other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. We should strengthen our unity with all genuine Marxist-Leninist Parties and organizations and carry through to the end the struggle against modern revisionism with the Soviet revisionist renegade clique as its centre.

Comrades! The present domestic situation is very good. The basic indicator is the great victory scored by our Party in the eleventh struggle between the two lines.

In this immense, sharp and intense struggle against the "gang of four," the masses have been mobilized on a very broad scale and yet in a very orderly way and the movement has developed very swiftly and yet very soundly; this fully shows that the struggle accords with the wishes of the Party, the army and the people. In line with the plans of the Central Committee, in the last ten months the whole Party, the whole army and the people of all nationalities have concentrated on exposing and criticizing the conspiracy of the "gang of four" to usurp Party and state power and their criminal history, exposed and repudiated their counter-revolutionary revisionist line, seized back that portion of power they had usurped, investigated the individuals involved in their conspiracy and the incidents connected with it, and struck at the old and new bourgeois elements and counter-revolutionaries they backed, abetted and sheltered. As a result of ten months of fierce struggle the morale of the proletariat has been greatly enhanced, the arrogance of the bourgeoisie punctured, and the Party's leadership and the dictatorship of the proletariat strengthened. Another profound change has taken place in the balance of class forces in China, a change favourable to the proletariat and unfavourable to the bourgeoisie.

The revolution has given an impetus to production. Through our efforts in the few months following the overthrow of the "gang of four," we have changed the situation in which production was stagnating or even falling as a result of the gang's serious interference and sabotage. Beginning from March this year industrial production, the volume of transport, state purchases and sales of commodities and state revenues have all gone up, setting new records by successively exceeding the previous peaks for the corresponding periods. Industrial production has quickly recovered in a number of areas which were tightly controlled by the "gang of four" or seriously afflicted by their sabotage for a long time. The gross value of industrial output for June surpassed the highest monthly level of the past. Although agricultural production was affected by an unusually harsh drought and other natural adversities, losses have been considerably reduced and a fairly good harvest of summer grain gathered in many areas thanks to the efforts of the commune members. The numerous cadres and the masses are determined to go all out and fully employ their talents in the great struggle to build our socialist motherland. The mass movements to learn from Taching in industry and from Tachai in agriculture are surging ahead on an unprecedented scale. A socialist revolutionary campaign to emulate, learn from, catch up with, help and surpass each other is unfolding not only within and between enterprises but also between departments and between provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.. A new leap forward is taking shape in the national economy.

The mass struggle to expose and criticize the "gang of four" is deepening in all spheres of culture, and efforts are being made to gradually overcome the havoc wrought by the gang and to push forward the revolution on the scientific and technological front, in education, in literature and art, and in public health.

In short, the situation is very good and popular feeling favours order. All the changes and developments in the situation at home over the last ten months fully testify to the fact that the great class struggle to expose and criticize the "gang of four" is the fundamental motive force now propelling our cause forward and that the strategic decision adopted by the Central Committee, namely, to grasp the key link of class struggle and bring about great order across the land, is entirely correct and most timely.

The eight "must's" for attaining great order across the land which I put forward on behalf of the Central Committee at its working conference in March this year have won the warm approval of the whole Party, the whole army and the people of all nationalities. The Central Committee holds that these eight points constitute the main fighting tasks for our Party now and for some time to come as we grasp the key link of class struggle and run the country well.