Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-23
Says Chinese
Want No War
With America

% (R.-Premier Chou En-lai
of Red China offered today to
negotiate with the United States
on tensions in the Far East, in
Guiding the Formosa area.
In a move Interpreted as the
launching of a new Communist
peace offensive in Asia, Mr..
Chou issued this formal state
ment at the Asian-African Con-
ference:
1.-The Chinese people are
friendly to the American peo-
pie. The Chinese people do not
want to have a war with the
United States of America.
THE Chinese government is
willing to sit down and enter
into negotiations with the
United States to discuss the
question of relaxing tension in
the Far East. especially the
question of relaxing tension in
the Taiwan CFormosa) area"
Forwarded to Washington
Premier Mohammed Ali Of
Pakistan said he had forwarded
Mr.. Chou's statement to Wash
ington with some suggestions Of
his own.
. Il think it is a great move for
relaxing tension, particularly in
the critical Far East" Mr. Ali
added. 1T was my understand
ing that the negotiations would
wait for an answer from the
United States"
The Chou statement was is
sued after an informal luncheon
conference that included repre-
sentatives of the Colombo Pow
erS, sponsors of the Asian
African meeting, Thailand, China
and the Philippines. The five
Colombo Powers are India, Indo-
neSia. Pakistan, Ceylon and
Burma.
Mr.. Chou had told the lunch
con conference the Peiping
regime was ready to negotiate
on Formosa, but did not specific
ally single out the United States
as he did in the formal state
! ment, delegates present said.
/ Burma's Premier U MI, who
has assumed the role of an East
West negotiator and plans a
trip to the United States, called
Mr.. Chou's statement "a good
step toward ending world ten
| sion"
| Nehru Refuses Comment
| Prime Minister Nehru of India
refused immediate comment.
The statement was not issued
at a regular conference session
and many delegates did not
know about it.
There was no elaboration from
Communist sources at the con-
ference on what Red China
would consider basis for nego-
tiationS concerning the For-
mosa area.
On Tuesday Mr.. Chou told
the conference the danger Of
war is increasing in the East
and West. He accused the
United States of trying to create
tension in the Formosa area and
overthrow the Red regime in
Peiping.
Mr.. Chou defended as just,
what he called the determine
ton of the Chinese people to
"liberate" Formosa. now the
island stronghold of the anti
Communist regime headed by
Chang Kai-shek.
matter of Internal Affairs"
Mr.. Chou said Formosa lis en-
tirely matter of our internal
affairs and the exercise of our
sovereignty"
Last February 3 Red China re-
jected bid from the United Ma
lions for talks on a cease-fire in
Formosa Strait. Only this week
u. N. Secretary General Dag
Hammarskjold said he could see
no merit in suggestions that the
United Nations take up the For
mosa question at the present
time.
Mr.. Chou's statement was
timed day ahead of the sched-
uled arrival in Formosa of Ad-
miral Radford, chairman of the
United States Joint Chiefs Of
Staff, and Assistant Secretary
of State Walter S. Robertson.
They will confer with Gen. Chi
ang on Sunday, presumably
about the hot question of the
United States position on defense
of the offshore islands of Que
moy and MatSu.
Mr.. Chou did not give out the
Formosa statement himself. 1t
was distributed by Kang Mao