LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL JANUARY 29, 1975. Hon. JOHN SPARKMAN, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR SPARKMAN: Almost three years have elapsed since the visit of the joint Senate leadership to China in April-May 1972. A second visit just recently completed has afforded me an opportunity to learn more about the nation that is home to one-quarter of the world's people and has permitted me to explore further the prospects for the evolving Sino-U.S. relationship. I had seen the old China as a U.S. Marine in the early 1920's, as a special representative of President Roosevelt during World War II, and, shortly after the war, as a member of the House of Representatives. I became reacquainted with China on an official joint Senate Leadership visit in 1972 and, together with the Senate Republican Leader (Mr. Scott) reported to the Senate on the initial and limited observations which were possible at that time.1 Through the courtesy of the People's Republic of China, I spent the period from December 9, 1974, when I arrived in Shanghai, until December 30, 1974, when I crossed the border into Hong Kong, in that vast and still little known and understood nation. This second visit to the People's Republic was made with the full concurrence and support of the President and the Secretary of State as being in line with the policy of normalization. It represented a continuation of the bipartisan approach which, from the beginning, has characterized the rapprochement with China. Through the excellent cooperation and assistance of the staff of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs and officials in cities and areas across China, I talked with people in all walks of life. To study as many aspects as possible of the new Chinese social order, I inspected factories, communes, homes, schools, historic sites, museums, irrigation and reclamation projects and hydroelectric plants. While in China, I travelled some 6,000 miles by plane, train and car. A detailed itinerary of the juorney appears in the appendix.2 I spent five days in Peking holding discussions with leading officials of the People's Republic. These conversations included one hour with Premier Chou En-lai, five hours with Vice-Premier Teng Hsiao-ping, and seven hours with Foreign Minister Ch'iao Kuan-hua. Outside of Peking, I met with local officials wherever I went. Briefings were provided by the U.S. Liaison Office in Peking and, in Honolulu, by Âmbassador George Bush, Chief of the United States Liaison Office in Peking, as well as Admiral Noel Gayler, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. forces in the Pacific. 1 See appendix I. 2 See appendix A. (V) From Peking I journeyed south to spend four days in Honan Province, a rich, balanced agricultural and industrial province in the heart of the Yellow River Basin. I visited factories, communes, irrigation and flood control works, land reclamation projects, and other places of concentrated activity in many parts of the province, including the cities of Cheng-chou, Hsin-hsiang and Lo-yang. From Honan Province, I flew northwest to Sian and Yenan in Shensi Province, which, in 1937, was the terminus of the legendary Long March for the fledgling People's Liberation Army. The city is enshrined now as the cradle of the Chinese Revolution. From Yenan, I went south to Kuei-lin in the Kwangsi Chuang Autonomous Region, an area populated by many national minorities. Fifty-four of these minorities have been recognized by the People's Republic. They constitute 5% of China's population and are scattered over 60% of its land area. In Kwangsi Chuang, which is home to 12 different nationalities, I had excellent opportunities to learn how minority problems are handled in the People's Republic. Questions pertaining thereto were explored in depth in the cities of Kuei-lin and in Nanning. After leaving Nan-ning, I flew to Kun-ming, the capital of Yunnan Province, a key area in World War II and now a thriving industrial center in southwest China. The study of the minorities was pursued further in that province which is the home of twenty-four different minorities. In all, five days were spent in the Kwangsi Chuang Autonomous Region and three in Yunnan Province. The last stop was Kuang-chou (Canton), the site of China's semi-annual trade fair, and the home of 3 additional nationalities. It is also a city which is familiar to a growing number of American businessmen. While in China I heard many references to the visit to China by Mrs. Imelda Romualdez Marcos, wife of President Ferdinand Marcos of the Republic of the Philippines. There were comments relative to a petroleum contract with the Philippines and also about the enthusiasm of the welcome she received. I thought it advisable to visit Manila primarily for the purpose of exchanging impressions of China and on the developing relationships between China and the Philippines and other countries on the periphery of the People's Republic of China. It was anticipated that future contacts would continue to be made between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of the Philippines and that, hopefully, beneficial trade arrangements would increase. During a twenty-four hour period in the Philippines, eight hours were spent in conferences with President and Mrs. Marcos. The visit added much to my understanding of the situation in China. The question of the Spratly Islands also arose. It was stated that there is some ambiguity about the exact application of this name to a large group of shoals and islands on the west coast of the Philippines. In the Philippine view, one group lies quite close to the Island of Palawan and belongs to the Philippines, notwithstanding the fact that the largest island is occupied by military forces from Taiwan. As for other islands farther westward in the South China Sea, there were claims by Taiwan, the People's Republic of China, South Vietnam, and the Philippines. Both areas offer very good prospects for petroleum exploration and it was recognized that this factor could create international difficulties unless steps were soon taken to resolve the question of sovereignty. Immediately on my return from China I submitted to the President of the United States, in confidence, a report on my observations and findings together with recommendations regarding U.S. policy. The report also included accounts of conversations with Premier Chou En-lai, as well as with Vice Premier Teng Hsiao-ping, Foreign Minister Ch'iao Kuan-hua and Vice Foreign Minister Wang Hai-jung. The report which follows is an attempt to put together in some cohesive pattern a vast number of impressions and experiences. Hopefully, these patterns will assist the Senate in grasping what in my judgment may prove to be the most profound international development of the second half of the 20th Century, the emergence of a new and dynamic nation on the Chinese mainland. How that nation is meeting the needs of its peoples, and how it is relating to the United States and other nations are questions of the greatest significance to present and future generations. We have an urgent responsibility to the people of this nation to try to understand what is transpiring in China and how best to relate our policies to that phenomenon so as to establish enduring contacts of peace, friendship and equality between the people of the United States and a Chinese population which already numbers over 800 million people. On this mission, I was accompanied by my wife, Maureen Mansfield, and the Honorable Jane Engelhard of the President's Commission to Study the Organization of the Government for the Conduct of Foreign Policy. Support and assistance was provided to me from many sources. In particular, I want to thank the Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, for excellent background studies; the Department of the Air Force for assistance in transportation; the Department of State for making available Ambassador Francis J. Meloy, Assistant Secretary of State for Administration, John Thomas, and Miss Dixie Grimes of Mr. Thomas' staff. Dr. Freeman H. Cary, the Attending Physician of the Capitol, also accompanied me, and provided both his professional assistance and his observations on Chinese health care. From the Senate I had the assistance of Mr. Norvill Jones of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Mrs. Salpee Sahagian, Administrative Assistant to the Majority Leader, and the Secretary of the Senate, Mr. Frank Valeo, who, as a former Consultant to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had accompanied me on my previous visit to China as well as on many other Presidential and Senate missions to Asia and elsewhere abroad in the past. Sincerely yours, MIKE MANSFIELD. THE WHITE HOUSE, Washington, D.C., October 23, 1974. Hon. MIKE MANSFIELD, DEAR MIKE: One of the key elements in our current foreign policy is the effort to further normalize relations with the People's Republic of China. In the light of developments both within our country and in the world, it seems to me that it would be most helpful to the pursuit of that policy if you could undertake a visit to China in the near future. As Senate Majority Leader and as a Democrat, your presence in China would underscore the bipartisan nature of the policy of normalization and emphasize its continuity. Moreover, in view of your extensive experience with the affairs of the Western Pacific, it would be helpful to me to have your assessment of the current status of the Sino-U.S. rapprochement and the relationship of normalization to the general situation in the Far East. It seems to me, too, that further familiarization on your part with the situation in China would be of great value in the consideration of any future questions regarding Sino-U.S. relations which may come before the Senate. In the event you undertake this visit, the Executive Branch will be glad to assist you in any way possible. With warmest personal regards, Sincerely, (VIII) JERRY FORD. CHINA: A QUARTER CENTURY AFTER THE FOUNDING OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC I. Is the System Working? China's political system is no longer an experiment. It is here to stay. It is more than a political system. It is a way of life for China's 800 million people. Chinese society, today, is based on the communist theories of Chairman Mao Tse-tung which, to the Western ear, can sound not only like Marxism but also common sense and a mixture of understanding and severity in confronting the frailties of human nature. The constant speculation over what will happen in China after Chairman Mao Tse-tung retires from the scene, in my opinion, is largely an exercise in irrelevance. It ignores the depth and the reality of the revolutionary changes which have taken place in China during the last quarter century. Mao is esteemed almost to the point of reverence because he has pointed the way and his leadership has restored China's self-confidence. Mao's precepts can be expected to guide China's destiny for a long time to come. "Serve the people" and "self-reliance" are more than slogans, they are the guideposts of Chinese society for the present and future. From Shanghai to Sian, from Peking to Kun-ming, the evidence of the system's durability is overwhelming. Politics permeates China's daily life, from the high government officials in Peking to peasants in the remote communes. The traditional Chinese concepts of family loyalty and group activity have been extended to make the Chinese people into a pyramid of "families." At the apex is the leadership of an integrated Chinese nation. Pride in common accomplishment and faith in a common future are evident everywhere. China today is more unified than ever before in its history. This is not to say that there will not be political turmoil. Indeed, periodic political shake-ups are an essential feature of Mao's thesis. They are regarded as a necessity in order to cleanse the system of ever recurring "elitist" tendencies. That was the significance of the Cultural Revolution. It is a principal factor in the current movement to "criticize Lin Piao and Confucius." The prospect of struggles for personal political power is also inherent in any political system. In China, however, the likelihood is that even these struggles will take place within the framework of Maoism. Incorporated into the Chinese economic system is a substantial insulation from the storms which take place in the international economy. The current burdens of inflation and the specter of a worldwide depression, for example, leave China relatively untouched. Mao's emphasis on self-reliance, local initiative, and national self-sufficiency (1) |