December 25, 1954
Cable from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, 'Regarding Our Attitude towards the Afro-Asian Conference'
This document was made possible with support from MacArthur Foundation
Sent to: All external stations
Forwarded to: Zhou, Foreign Ministry ([Print illegible] Yu, Huang Hua, [Chen] Jiakang, Yong [Print illegible], Gong Peng), [Wang] Jiaxiang
Content: Regarding Our Attitude towards the Afro-Asian Conference
To All Ambassadors and Representatives: (Top Secret)
Regarding the question of the Afro-Asian Conference; when the two Prime Ministers, Nehru and U Nu, visit China, a responsible comrade in our government will in sequential order tell them that we support the Afro-Asian Conference and express our willingness to attend. Nehru said the general impression is that every Afro-Asian country would be invited to attend, but also said that [invitation] requires consultation with other countries of the Kuala Lumpur Conference. U Nu expressed his hopes that our Premier Zhou [Enlai] could attend [the Afro-Asian Conference] personally, and asked for our opinion regarding the possible attendance of Japan, Philippines, and Thailand. A responsible comrade in our government will express our consent to inviting the above mentioned countries. China and those countries do not have diplomatic relations, but not to worry, [there was the precedence of the] US attending the Geneva Conference [even though we did not have diplomatic relations with the US either]. At the same time, we will state that Jiang Jieshi [Chiang Kai-shek] cannot be invited. The above describes our attitude towards the Afro-Asian Conference for your consultation when conducting external activities.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
25 December 1954
Draft Examined by: [Chen] Jiakang
The Chinese Foreign Ministry informed Chinese embassies overseas that China supported the Asian-African Conference as well as the participation of the countries with whom China had no diplomatic relation, such as Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand. China also emphasized that Chiang Kai-shek was not to be invited to the Conference.
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