January 17, 1949
Cable, Mao Zedong to Filippov [Stalin]
To Comrade Filippov
1. I received your two telegrams dated 14 and 15 January.
2. I decided to postpone [my] trip to Moscow temporarily.
3. We very much welcom e you sending one member of the Politburo to China.
The most suitable place for his arrival is Shijiazhuang. This is a relatively inconspicuous place and one can go from there straight to the location of our CC. Here one can speak with five comrades from the CC Secretariat on a number of questions (the main ones are presently the questions: of the the political consultative meeting, of the coalition government, of the diplomatic policy and of the economic policy).
Railroad traffic from the Shijiazhuang to Shanhaiguan has not been restored yet. It will take me at least 20 days to go from here to Harbin and back, and in Mukden live many representatives of the democratic parties. If I were to pass through this point, it would be difficult to maintain secrecy. Therefore it will be less secret than if your comrade were to fly in by a plane to Shijiazhuang.
If you agree with this option, then it is best if his arrival happened at the end of this or in the beginning of the next month.
Mao Zedong
17 January 1949
Mao states that he must delay his visit to Moscow once again. He gives an alternative, which is to have a member of the Politburo come to visit China instead.
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