First stationed in the United Nations: the opening game on the East River
China News Weekly reporter/Huang Wei Bao Anqi
Monday, November 15, 1971.
That morning, Shi Yanhua and more than 20 colleagues came to the United Nations to "occupy seats" more than an hour earlier.
The long and low United Nations Conference Hall building faces the East River in New York and is adjacent to the tall and flat Secretariat building commonly known as the "matchbox".
In the conference hall building, under the high dome of the conference hall, the central area is the delegate seat, each country occupies two rows, a total of 6 seats.
There are a few rows of chairs behind the aisle, where other members of delegations can sit freely.
They heard that there will be a lot of people today, and there will be no seats when they go late.
Because this day is an extraordinary day: the delegation of the People’s Republic of China led by Qiao Guanhua will make an official appearance in front of the world.
Prior to this, the term "five powers" had not been mentioned in the United Nations for many years, and now the four powers have returned to the five powers.
Former Indian Defense Minister Menon has a famous saying: "When the United States and the Soviet Union agree, the United Nations does not need to exist. When they disagree, the United Nations can do nothing." Nowadays, people are all in it. Talk about the "Great Triangle" of the United States, the Soviet Union and China.
A brand new pattern has been slowly opened on the banks of the East River.
Debut
"It should have been so! Very happy!"
At 10:32 on November 15th, under the guidance of the Director of the UN Protocol Division Sinan Cole, the head of the Chinese delegation Qiao Guanhua, the deputy head of the Chinese delegation Huang Hua, the secretary-general Fu Hao, representatives Xiong Xianghui and Chen Chu, Translator Tang Wensheng walked up into the United Nations General Assembly Hall. The all-color dark Chinese tunic suit (referred to by foreign media as "high-necked woolen clothes") is truly eye-catching in the world of suits and ties.
Faced with a reporter's question, "What do you think of sitting at the seat in China for the first time?" Qiao Guanhua answered in this way, accompanied by his iconic uplifting laughter.
This day is theoretically an ordinary day in the UN disarmament debate.
But in fact, the disarmament debate has been suspended for several days to wait for the arrival of the Chinese delegation.
The participants unanimously agreed that there is no point in discussions or negotiations without Beijing.
The Conference on Disarmament, which resumes on this day, is going to spend half a day first, with representatives from various regional groups (such as the Western Europe Group and the Southeast Asia Group) giving speeches to welcome the Chinese delegation.
But the agenda was quickly broken, and representatives from various countries signed up and asked to speak.
The reporters noticed that the Chinese representatives have been listening attentively, checking the list of representatives in their hands from time to time.
The German News Agency wrote: "The Chinese show a serious and calm attitude no matter where they are. They are slowly and cautiously exploring their path in the United Nations."
The meeting lasted from morning to afternoon, and representatives from 55 countries took the stage to give welcoming speeches.
Seeing that it was getting dark, the Chairman of the General Assembly and Indonesian Foreign Minister Adam Malik had to announce that the manuscripts of the delegates who had not had time to speak would be issued by the Secretariat after the meeting.
At 6:40 in the afternoon, Qiao Guanhua, wearing a gray-black Chinese tunic suit and a pair of beautiful Krona glasses, walked to the podium amidst stormy applause.
Qiao Guanhua's speech lasted 45 minutes.
Mao Zedong’s keynote set for this speech was: first, we must settle the accounts, we must calculate the accounts of preventing China from entering the United Nations for so many years, and we must focus on the names of the United States and Japan; second, we must talk about the world situation, pointing out that the country must be independent, the nation must be liberated, and the people The revolution has become an irresistible historical trend; the third is to talk about China's basic attitude towards international issues, oppose hegemonism, and promote the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.
All in all, it must be "clear-cut, high-rise building, and the momentum is like a broken bamboo."
The speech was not revised and finalized by domestic review until the night before.
Following the Chinese, the translation team kept revising the English and French translations.
Shi Yanhua and her husband Wu Jianmin are both in the translation team. She is an English translator and Wu Jianmin is a French translator. Ji Chaozhu, the head of the translation office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, once joked that the "British and French coalition forces" are about to reach New York.
The speech draft thanked the names of the 23 sponsors of the "Two Arab Proposals". They proofread it many times. One name cannot be omitted, and the order (in alphabetical order) cannot be wrong.
Until late at night, 300 English manuscripts and 100 French manuscripts were packed into cartons, and everyone went back to their room to sleep at ease.
There were 131 member states, plus reporters. I thought that 300 copies would be more than enough. I didn't expect Qiao Guanhua to take the stage only a few minutes before his speech was robbed.
The staff hurriedly called back to the place of residence and asked to print 100 copies as soon as possible.
During the whole process, there was no sound in the hall, and the people standing in the corridors on both sides did not have headphones for simultaneous interpretation, so they looked at the translation in their hands and listened.
Qiao Guanhua’s speech on Indochina’s War of Resistance against the U.S., the Peaceful Reunification Program of North Korea, the Arab countries’ opposition to Zionism, African countries’ opposition to white colonialism, Latin American countries’ fight for 200 nautical miles of territorial waters, and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ opposition to the economy The plundering struggles all carried out clear-cut solidarity, and sternly criticized the superpower that "superman is first-class and rides on others to claim hegemony".
In the end, he proclaimed with great momentum: "The affairs of any country must be managed by the people of this country; the affairs of the world must be managed by all countries in the world; the affairs of the United Nations must be shared by all countries participating in the United Nations. Let’s take care of it and don’t allow superpowers to manipulate and monopolize them.”
After Qiao Guanhua's speech, representatives of dozens of friendly countries came to shake hands and congratulate them, forming a long line in the aisle.
The head of the translation team, Guo Jiading, was ordered to record the name of the country to congratulate him. He could only manage to maintain his position amidst the push and push of the crowd.
Shi Yanhua is grateful that this task has not fallen to her, otherwise she will have to be squeezed out of the "historical stage".
According to media such as Reuters and United International News Agency, China made its debut on the UN stage tonight and shocked the UN General Assembly with a strongly worded policy speech. This surprised many diplomatic observers because they had expected the Chinese delegation’s behavior. The first speech will be a short speech expressing gratitude to all countries for their warm welcome.
Deutsche News Agency stated that Qiao's speech showed that Beijing will make itself "the mouthpiece and supporter of small and medium-sized countries."
The reporter also noticed that after Qiao Guanhua finished his speech, the permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations George Bush, the permanent representative of the Soviet Union to the United Nations Yakov Marek, and the Israeli ambassador Joseph Tekoa did not applaud.
That morning, Bush had met Qiao Guanhua for the first time.
The two sides "ran into" on the only way for the Chinese delegation to go to the Great Hall. Bush was making a phone call in the corridor covered with green carpets, and "not sooner or later" just put down the microphone.
After Collet gave an introduction without losing the opportunity, the personnel from both sides shook hands with each other "kindly and not overly enthusiastic".
This is the masterpiece of the etiquette expert of the US State Department.
The first meeting between Huang Hua and Marek was far from such an atmosphere.
That was the first time that Huang Hua participated in a meeting of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
The meeting was held at the residence of the French representative Jacques Kościuszko-Morize. When Huang Hua arrived, the other three had arrived first.
After Kosciuszko-Morize greeted Huang Hua in the door, he first introduced the British representative Sir Colin Crowe, Huang Hua shook hands with him, then introduced Bush, and shook hands with each other.
Then Marek also extended his hand, but after hearing the introduction of "This is the Soviet ambassador", Huang Hua retracted his hand, turned and walked away.
Bush recalled that the air in the room seemed to freeze at that moment, making him unforgettable many years later.
He understood that the Chinese wanted to publicly state that China viewed Soviet "hegemonism" as a greater threat than American "imperialism."
Murder
The annual Christmas signifies the end of the United Nations General Assembly.
On December 22, the 26th session of the UN General Assembly closed after the new Secretary-General Waldheim was elected.
The work of the United Nations has entered the "off-season", and representatives of many countries have returned to their countries for vacation and Christmas.
After 42 days of working in New York, Qiao Guanhua led some members of the Chinese delegation back home.
The more than 40 people left behind began the establishment and daily work of the Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
Huang Hua is the permanent representative of China to the United Nations, and Chen Chu is the deputy representative.
The Roosevelt Hotel under the delegation has more than 70 rooms on the 14th floor (actually the 13th floor), which seems a bit empty.
Everyone spends most of their time in the hotel room, because they can only look at the window in the street, and life is boring and lonely.
However, the tree wants to be quiet but the wind keeps on.
One of Shi Yanhua's job is to read newspapers every morning for several leaders in the regiment who do not understand English.
In early 1972, a New York tabloid published a message in an obscure corner that someone might attack the Chinese delegation in order to cause incidents to undermine Nixon's visit to China.
The leaders of the delegation attached great importance to it and immediately strengthened security measures, stipulating that they are not allowed to go out except for meetings at the United Nations.
But the tragedy still happened.
It was the Sunday morning before the Spring Festival. Wu Miaofa, the second secretary of the delegation, called some members of the group to learn English as usual, but Wang Xichang, an industrial worker, did not show up.
Open the door with the hotel's master key, kick open the chain lock, and found Wang Xichang lying on the bed, dead.
How could a young man who was still alive the night showing a movie for everyone suddenly die?
Doctors have repeatedly said that there are many reasons for the sudden death of young people, and they may die from some kind of sudden disease, but China still does not believe it.
Zhou Enlai instructed the leaders of the delegation to negotiate with the United States, pointing out that at the time when President Nixon was about to visit China and Sino-US relations were improving, the United States had an unshirkable responsibility for investigating this incident and instructed that the body cannot be cremated until it is cleared.
Huang Hua immediately wrote to the US Permanent Mission to the United Nations, asking the US authorities to conduct a thorough investigation.
The New York police inspected the scene carefully, and the hospital did an autopsy, but the cause of death could not be found.
Wang Xichang's body was temporarily stored in the freezer, and the delegation continued to urge the US to solve the case.
It was not until more than two months later that the delegation received a notice from the New York City Hospital saying that evidence was found in Wang Xichang’s stomach. Wang Xichang died of central nervous system paralysis after drinking water containing concentrated nicotine.
The delegation retrieved a small cup of Wang Xichang's gastric juice, together with a cup of water in a thermos bottle in his room, and sent it back to the country with the messenger.
The domestic test results are consistent with the U.S. side.
There is no thermos in the United States. This kind of thermos is a coffee pot purchased by the delegation from Hong Kong.
At that time, the New York police stationed a security team at the elevator entrance on the 14th floor, which was on duty 24 hours a day.
But Wang Xichang's room was close to the freight elevator and was in the blind spot of the police's sight.
Since then, if members of the delegation go out, they will definitely pour out the tea when they come back.
Shi Yanhua has developed the habit of drinking tap water directly.
Years have passed, and the case has not been solved, and it has become a historically unsolved case.
After the accident, the delegation accelerated the pace of house purchases.
The task of finding a house fell on He Liliang.
The delegation commissioned a lawyer to accompany her around the house.
The West Side of New York was not favored before. Lawyers told them after investigating that the West Side is improving. The Lincoln Center for the Arts often has musicals and other performances. The audience is very high and the neighborhood has a promising future. It is recommended to buy a house in this area.
He Liliang saw many houses in this area and felt that they were either too small or not well equipped.
At this time, an Italian student studying in the United States introduced them to Lincoln Square Motel.
Lincoln Square Motel is located at the intersection of Broadway and 66th Street, opposite the Lincoln Center for the Arts and the Juilliard School.
The hotel covers an area of more than 2,000 square meters and has 10 floors. There are more than 270 rooms, a hall for more than 300 people, a large freezer and other facilities, and a large underground garage with four sectors. , Can park 170 cars.
After reporting to China, in April, Zhou Enlai quickly approved 4.85 million US dollars in cash.
The delegation paid in one lump sum and bought the hotel's building and land.
The Italian student who introduced this business received a commission of 1.5%, and was so happy that he immediately went to China for a trip.
Before handing over the house, the homeowner notified the extension twice.
The New York police took the police dog and checked the rooms one by one. No explosives or dangerous goods were found. Instead, publications such as "Playboy", "Playboy" and "Attic" were found under the mattresses in some rooms.
After some decoration and preparations, the delegation moved into their home happily.
The domestic refined bronze medal was also delivered by a courier, and the "Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations" was officially listed.
Soon, domestic technicians thoroughly inspected the delegation’s premises and removed multiple sets of eavesdropping equipment from room radiators.
When buying this building, the Chinese delegation valued its large underground garage.
Speaking in the room, the sound will cause the glass window to vibrate slightly, and it may be picked up by special equipment outside. Therefore, the delegation will go to the garage to hold an important meeting.
Later, a secret room was specially set up. There was no glass window and no ventilation equipment. Writing important materials had to be boiled in it for an hour or two. When it was finished, it was usually sweaty.
"Chinese Wisdom"
In the United Nations Conference Building, there are only state-owned offices for the five permanent members of the Security Council.
The Chinese office is very stylish, with a window overlooking the East River.
Wu Jianmin discovered that by counting the number of windows, one can know the position of a person in the United Nations.
When it first entered the United Nations, the Chinese delegation only participated in the work of the General Assembly, the Security Council, the First Committee, the Special Political Committee, the Economic and Social Council, the Administrative and Budgetary Committee, and the Legal Committee, and then gradually expanded to all the main committees.
Frequent requests for instructions and instructions from the central government have increased the number of confidential telegrams between New York and Beijing.
A lot of work must be done outside the meeting to find out the attitudes of different countries, especially major countries, and ask for instructions in the country after understanding.
At the beginning, I had to wait for a telegram to be sent from the country before I could vote. Sometimes it was too late.
Later, in the telegram, he wrote "If anything is wrong, please reply before × point in New York time".
In case the answer is not enough at that time, we will vote according to the original plan.
Huang Hua's main energy is devoted to the work of the Security Council, and his main assistant is Zhou Nan, the head of the political team of the delegation and a talented person in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Zhou Nan recalled that Huang Hua was honest and kind, and his work was meticulous and responsible.
Every time he goes to Huang Hua's office, he always sees him sitting there with a pillow behind his waist, constantly reading materials, and constantly drawing roads on it.
However, in diplomatic negotiations, Huang Hua insisted on principles and had a reputation as a hard negotiator.
He Liliang studied at the Moscow Institute of International Relations in the 1950s, so he was assigned to work in the Legal Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (the Sixth Committee).
An important proposal she participated in the review was the "United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea."
He Liliang told China News Weekly that it was actually the third time that the United Nations reviewed this convention. The first two reviews were unfair. Therefore, the third world, especially Latin American countries, initiated the third review.
This is the first important international multilateral negotiation that China has participated in after restoring its legal seat in the United Nations, and it is also one of the international negotiations that have a far-reaching impact on China.
He Liliang participated in the deliberations of the first five years.
It was not until December 1982 that the nine-year long negotiations came to an end and the "United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea" was passed. China was the first signatory.
The convention stipulated 12 nautical miles of territorial waters, exclusive economic zones, etc., and began to form a new international maritime order.
After the first "random encounter" at the United Nations, the enthusiastic host Bush began to do his best as a landlord, inviting Huang Hua and his wife to wait at his home as a guest. He also gave Huang Hua a small and easy-to-use iron toolbox.
He is very sociable and often jokes about asking the Chinese delegation to invite him to dinner.
At the beginning of 1972, Zhou Enlai's instruction came: Don't stay simple and ignorant.
Since then, the delegation changed the practice of returning to the station after the meeting.
Huang Hua often went to the representative lounge where the giant Great Wall tapestries donated by China were hung to talk with representatives of other countries, which made them very happy.
A representative from Latin America said with admiration: “This is the personal diplomacy of the Chinese. Huang Hua drinks tea here and his attitude is very easy-going.” An African representative commented: “This is the'Third World' in The place where the United Nations meets. The Chinese apparently caught this place quickly. I don’t remember seeing Mr. Bush or Mr. Marek come here for tea or coffee."
Wu Jianmin recalled that China’s earliest understanding of the United Nations can be summed up in three sentences: one is a "forum" that can spread China’s voice to the outside; , The files are piled up, but they can't play a restrictive role.
At this stage, the delegation focused its work on anti-hegemony and support for developing countries, and did not participate much in other affairs.
The rest rooms and cafes of the United Nations are like a free market, where various news circulates, and various proposals are planned here.
Wu Jianmin often sits consciously and listens to the discussion around him with his ears up. Sometimes he can get a lot of information when he just licks the water in a circle.
In the United Nations, there is another place to obtain information, which is the restaurant.
United Nations restaurants are divided into different grades.
The representative restaurant is more advanced and needs to be reserved in advance. The table here becomes a negotiating table from time to time; the restaurant for ordinary staff is cheaper, and most people can come to eat here, and the middle-level officials of the delegation usually eat here.
A set meal in the staff restaurant is about US$4, including a main course, a soup and a dessert.
The meal standard for the Chinese delegation was 25 US dollars a day, which was a very high standard at the time.
While in China, Shi Yanhua worked as a daily interpreter for some visiting foreign delegations.
An African foreign minister asked for a drink called seven up. She had no idea what it was. She could only bite the bullet and told the waiter at the Diaoyutai State Guest House that the guests wanted "seven up".
At that time, there were very few types of beverages in the hotel, and there was no such thing as "seven ups" and "eight downs", and the guests had no choice but to give up.
After arriving in the United States, she knew that this was originally a lemonade called Qiup.
Shi Yanhua said that when she was in school at Beijing Foreign Studies University, her teachers used standard London accents. When she first arrived in New York, she felt that Americans spoke like Beijingers with a lot of accents. She was not used to listening, but she quickly got used to it.
Most of the Chinese translators of the United Nations Secretariat are from Hong Kong and Taiwan, and some translation methods make people incomprehensible. For example, the translation of "boycott" (boycott) into "boycott".
Therefore, although there is simultaneous interpretation, Shi Yanhua sometimes needs to "bite his ears" next to the delegation leader during meetings.
Shi Yanhua's main job is to translate the Chinese speech of the delegation into English.
The Chinese speech must be sent back to the country first, and after review, she and Jiading Ding will translate it into English. She will turn over the first draft, and Jiading will finalize it, then print it out and deliver it to the Secretariat, which will then translate from English into other languages. Language, the manuscript will be read by the simultaneous interpreter during the meeting.
She told China News Weekly that Chinese translators were not familiar with Chinese political terminology, and asked them to translate "that kind of tone can't come out."
The Soviet Union was very active on disarmament issues, and the Chinese delegation exposed it tit-for-tatly.
The representative of the Soviet Union proposed that the five permanent members of the Security Council cut 10% funding and use part of the saved funds to aid developing countries. Qiao Guanhua retorted, saying that the Soviet representative’s view has been publicized many times, but he has not told it so far. We, what is its true military budget, it may take several years to figure out this problem, and it will take years and months to really reduce it.
This great plan, to use Chinese idioms, is called "painting cakes to satisfy hunger".
This idiom is literally translated by Shi Yanhua and Guo Jiading as "to paint a cake to allay hunger".
When I heard this, laughter appeared in the venue.
At the end of the morning meeting, the President of the General Assembly and Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Gaston Thorn also borrowed this idiom to say: “It’s over a bit now (the United Nations morning meeting usually ends at one point). You must be hungry, just like the head of the Chinese delegation. Said that the painted cakes can't satisfy our hunger, we should go to eat." The audience roared with laughter.
Most of Qiao Guanhua's speeches were written by himself.
In the middle of the night, he had a bottle of Maotai in his hand, and Wensi was springing up.
Shi Yanhua often hears people say in the United Nations that the speech of the Chinese representative is full of "Chinese wisdom."
Secret channel
In the first two years, the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations also undertook a special task: secret communication channels between China and the United States.
After Kissinger's visit to China in July 1971, the two sides opened up a "Paris channel", in which the Chinese Ambassador to France Huang Zhen and the US Ambassador to France Walters directly contacted each other.
But Paris is too far away after all. After the Chinese delegation came, Kissinger proposed to open a secret communication channel between him and Huang Hua in New York (in Huang Hua’s absence, he would be replaced by Chen Chu, the second in charge of the delegation), and the Chinese government agreed.
At that time, Kissinger and the Soviet ambassador to the United States Anadoli Dobrynin also had such a direct communication channel.
Kissinger believes that this is a way to detect terrain and avoid major deadlocks.
During his first visit to China, he told Zhou Enlai that the United States will continue to deal with Moscow, but will inform Beijing in detail of any agreements that may be reached that involve China's interests.
For the first few secret meetings, Tang Wensheng acted as an interpreter. After she returned to China with Qiao Guanhua, Shi Yanhua replaced her as an interpreter and served as a liaison officer, maintaining direct contact with Winston Lord.
Winston Lord is Kissinger's special assistant, as well as his close friend and close friend.
To prevent the delegation's phone from being tapped, Shi Yanhua always uses public phones on the street or the United Nations.
The U.S. gave her a codename Kay, because if she reported her name, it would be difficult for the secretary to understand it, and secondly, it would be difficult for the secretary to hear and understand that there would always be Chinese people looking for Lorde, which would also attract unnecessary attention.
Wu Jianmin recalled that sometimes Shi Yanhua disappeared suddenly. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't ask, and she couldn't say.
The cars of the Chinese delegation are all black Lincoln cars with diplomatic license plates starting with CY, which are easy to identify. Therefore, the CIA sends an ordinary family car to pick up each appointment.
After dinner, Shi Yanhua would ask the driver to open the door of the underground garage in advance. The American car drove straight into the garage, closed the garage door, and Huang Hua went downstairs to board the car.
The car drove into the secluded East Side of Manhattan on 43rd Street and stopped in front of a two-story building.
This is an uninhabited empty building. There is nothing but a sofa and a coffee table in the small living room on the second floor.
The time is arranged very accurately every time, and the time difference between the two parties' arrival is generally only one or two minutes.
Shi Yanhua is the only translator in each meeting. This is the first time she has served as a translator for political meetings.
The central leadership attached great importance to the talks, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked her not only to translate, but also to make records, and to report back verbatim records.
She felt a lot of pressure, and her interpreting speed slowed down noticeably.
In Shi Yanhua's impression, Kissinger is not tall, wears large-rim glasses, and is very confident, giving people a mysterious and unpredictable feeling when smiling.
He speaks heavily with a German accent. As a PhD, he likes to use long sentences and big words, mixed with Latin, and he often speaks while chewing on the snacks on the table.
Shi Yanhua felt that his guttural voice with broken cookies was a disaster.
What made her relax a little is that Huang Hua, who came from Yanjing University, was very good at English. In Yan'an, he was an interpreter between Mao Zedong and Snow. If there is any problem, he will check it out for her.
As a liaison officer, Shi Yanhua is also responsible for delivering oral messages.
Sometimes Kissinger does not come by himself and sends Winston Lord to deliver a message.
Sometimes, when the Chinese side has information to feed back, they ask Lord to take a trip.
Lord was always late when he came, sometimes even late at night.
Before he came, Shi Yanhua would greet the staff on duty and let them pay attention to the doorbell.
When people arrive, she will prepare tea for the guests.
She found that Americans love to drink Chinese jasmine tea.
Entering April 1972, the situation in Vietnam escalated.
During this period, China and the United States frequently contacted each other and launched a fierce and subtle diplomatic game.
On April 3, Kissinger sent Lord to New York and delivered an oral message.
The official name of the message is to reply to China’s protest against the invasion of the Paracel Islands by US ships, but the real purpose is to remind the Chinese government of the extreme importance of the Vietnam issue to the United States. Don't worsen the situation".
On April 12, China replied to the oral message, expressing its solidarity with the Vietnamese people and warning that the United States has fallen deeper and deeper, but at the end it reiterated that China is willing to normalize relations with the United States.
At 9 o'clock in the evening on May 8, Nixon delivered a televised speech to the whole country, announcing the mine-laying of all ports in North Vietnam.
Just an hour before the speech was delivered, Kissinger sent Peter Rodman to New York and delivered a letter from Nixon to Zhou Enlai to Huang Hua.
The format of this letter is the same, there is no signature, the name of the issuing authority is not on the letter paper, and there is no watermark.
The letter reminded Zhou Enlai that “it is not the United States that wants to stay in Indochina for a long time” (alluding to the Soviet Union), and recalled that “the People’s Republic of China and the United States have patiently opened up a new relationship based on the far-reaching interests of the two countries in the past three years.” , I hope that "after the momentary passion has cooled down, we can focus on long-term benefits."
Rodman noticed that Huang Hua finished reading the letter with a gloomy expression, without commenting, and invited him to drink a few cups of jasmine tea.
Zhou Enlai received this letter, and at the same time received a letter from Kosygin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, requesting that the Soviet aid to Vietnam be transported by land through China.
The Chinese side issued a government statement in response to Vietnam and condemned the US imperialism, and at the same time "refuted" Kosygin's letter.
During this period, China also asked the US side about the technical arrangements for the visit of US House of Representatives leaders Hal Boggs and Gerald Ford to China through the Paris channel.
In fact, the visit is scheduled for the end of June, which is still early.
Kissinger recalled that experts previously expected that Beijing would freeze all relations between China and the United States except for unimportant non-governmental exchanges. The CIA analyzed that China is likely to provide direct assistance to Vietnam like it sent support troops before 1968, including agreeing to the Soviet Union’s The aid materials to Vietnam are transported by land through China.
So far they understand that the normalization of Sino-US relations will continue.
Kissinger sighed: "By this time we were already very clear that nothing the Chinese did was accidental."
The "balance of power politics" finally brought the "decent peace" that the United States had been striving for. On January 23, 1973, the "Paris Agreement for Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam" was finally signed by all parties.
More importantly, the post-war bipolar world is over.
After the settlement of the Vietnam issue, Kissinger visited China again in February 1973. The two sides issued a communiqué stating: Now is the right time to accelerate the normalization of relations. "Both sides agreed that the normalization of relations between the United States and the People’s Republic of China will Contribute to the relaxation of tensions in Asia and the world."
In May 1973, the two sides established a liaison office in each other's capital.
China’s internal notification stated: “The liaison office that the two sides will establish each other is not a diplomatic representative office, but as a tacit agreement they will grant each other diplomatic immunities and enjoy diplomatic privileges.”
Kissinger said that through several years of careful cultivation, the United States and China have developed a mutually supportive relationship. This is a peculiar partnership based on geopolitical interests. This relationship has never been formally stipulated. More effective.
So far, the Chinese delegation to the United Nations has also ended its mission of secret communication channels.
But the mission of the Chinese delegation in the United Nations, China's integration into the international community, and the international community’s road to understanding China have just begun.
China News Weekly, Issue 38, 2021
Statement: The publication of the "China News Weekly" manuscript is authorized in writing