This document discusses the shift in political leadership and the instability of the government in the wake of Mao Zedong's death. It also reports on China's economic situation and the beginnings of efforts to modernize the country, as well as foreign relations, especially with the Soviet Union.

Erich Honecker and Qiao Shi discuss economic and political reform in China, attempts to foster Sino-Soviet rapprochement, and East German and Chinese attitudes toward chemical and nuclear weapons.

Zhao Ziyang and Honecker discuss economic and political reforms in China, bilateral relations between China and East Germany, attempts to reduce nuclear and chemical weapons stockpiles, and China's attitudes toward the Iran-Iraq War, Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union.

Zhao Ziyang and Erich Honecker discuss the current political leadership in China, particularly the role of Hu Yaobang, and the Kampuchean crisis.

In anticipation of a visit by Zhao Ziyang to East Germany, the Ambassador of the GDR in Beijing reports on China's economic reforms, the leadership within the Chinese Communist Party, and China's relations with the GDR, the Soviet Union, the United States, and Japan.