Contributions Made by Zhou Enlai to the Establishment and Dissemination of the Five
China Institute Of International Studies
March 2, 2005
Wang Hao Director, Institute for Zhou Enlai Studies, Huaiying Teacher's College
original
... The new breakthrough in the Sinoª²US relations reflected the persistent proposition of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai that China and the United States should coexist peacefully. As early as at the Bandung Conference, Zhou pointed out emphatically in the statement on the Taiwan issue that China was ready to enter into negotiations with the US government so as to relax the tension in the Far East and especially in the Taiwan area. However, due to the US policy of containing China, this initiative was kept aside for a long time.
When meeting David Rockefeller in June 1973, Zhou said to him that it was necessary to find appropriate methods conducive to the development of the trade between two sides under different political systems. He pointed out that the method of seeking common ground while shelving differences used in the Sinoª²US Joint Communique was desirable. Diplomats and statesmen who lived at the same age of Zhou Enlai perhaps were not aware of the great significance of Zhou Enlai's diplomatic thinking about peace, cooperation and common development based on peaceful coexistence. Today when new economy and globalization become the historic trends, and when all countries are actively seeking regionally and internationally equal, and mutually beneficial, cooperative partnership, we have to exclaim over Zhou Enlai's profundity and foresight.