August 30, 1955
Cable from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, 'Instructions for the 12th Meeting of the Sino-US Ambassadorial Talks'
This document was made possible with support from MacArthur Foundation
Secret
[To] Ambassador Wang Bingnan:
We have received your two telegrams dated 29 August [1955].
1. From your conversation with Johnson on 28 August, the US side could not find an excuse to break the talks or put pressure on us. It is likely that the US side could agree to our proposal on reaching an agreement on Agenda I. But it is still possible that the US side may create some unjustifiable pretext to put off the talks.
2. In view of the aforementioned situation, we should take the offensive, making it impossible for the other side to put off the talks or putting the other side in a very unfavorable and passive situation for delaying the talks. It is utterly absurd to say that Sino-American relations will not improve unless we set free all US nationals and that we detain US nationals as hostages. We should firmly refute these subterfuges at the twelfth talk.
3. At the twelfth talk, our side should speak first. If the US side is conciliatory, we may state that we have made our position very clear and hope both sides rethink it. If the US side is not conciliatory, then we should take the initiative to postpone the talks to 3 September, asking the other side to reconsider. If the US side proposes a longer recess, we can agree. If the US side attempts to threaten us, we must resolutely refute him, and then we will consent to adjourn the talk.
4. If the US side is conciliatory at the twelfth talk, we plan to notify the other side of the status of US nationals who have applied to leave [China]. As to the wording of the agreed announcement, we may agree to replace “has adopted and will further adopt” with “is adopting”. If the US side agrees to this modification, we will agree to translate “jinsu” into “expeditiously,” but with no change in Chinese wording. We will also agree to eliminate the wording of “the People’s Republic of China” and “the United States of America” at the beginning of the paragraph on third party representation.
The Foreign Ministry
8:00 p.m., 30 August 1955
The Foreign Ministry suspected that the US was trying to buy time using ridiculous excuses. China must prevent the US from doing so. The Ministry instructed Wang different responses to give in various scenarios, and asked Wang to change the word in the text “as soon as possible” to “expeditiously.”
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