To Terebin

Reply to No. 1. Convey to Mao Zedong the following:

The VKP(b) CC and Cde. Stalin thank for the information about the situation in China and greet you in connection with the military successes of the People's Liberation Army of China. We agree that the question of the creation of the democratic coalition government is becoming a large and timely question. Creation of such a government in the present conditions would quicken the falling apart of the Guomindang government and would encourage a new, even more powerful surge of the democratic forces of China.

However, one circumstance causes us some doubt, namely that in your telegram the timing of creation of the democratic coalition government is set for the summer. Could it not turn out that, with the American cooperation, the Guomindang-ists will take the initiative of creating a coalition government into their hands, create their own coalition government before the summer, and, dragging into this affair some democratically disposed political figures of China, will thereby obstruct their rallying around the northern people's liberation forces of China. Such a step on the part of the Guomindang-ists is possible, especially, when they feel that their attempts to infiltrate their agents into the political consultative meeting, and then into the democratic coalition government, are failing.

Therefore would it not be better not to postpone the calling of the political consultative meeting and the formation of a democratic coalition government until the summer, but to carry out these activities immediately after the liberation of Beiping [Beijing] [?] This could confuse the cards of the Guomindangists and the Americans, who are preparing their plans of creation of a coalition government of China.

Telegraph the implementation.

Stalin
6.1.1949