... Western Europe, p. 2

... Asia, p. 10

... Latin America, p. 14

... Communist Countries, p. 19

PRESIDENT'S ACCEPTANCE OF INVITATION TO PEKING - IV

Summary

Overseas media gave newsplay to developments surrounding last week's announce-
ment that President Nixon will go to Peking, while commentators in a number
of capitals speculated on changes in big-power relationships possibly affecting
their own countries.

News interest in Western Europe focused on Chou En-lai's "eight-point plan" for normalization of Washington-Peking relations, President Nixon's letter to Chiang Kai-shek, Under Secretary Irwin's statement in London on U.N. representation, and interpretations of articles in Peking and Hanoi newspapers.

French papers headlined Chou's statements to a group of American students.
Aurore said he had thereby "embarrassed" President Nixon, but Figaro reported
"no surprise at the White House."

As the bulk of comment continued to welcome enthusiastically the prospects
for East-West detente opened by Mr. Nixon's acceptance of the invitation, observers
in several countries voiced regional and national concerns:

--Tokyo papers reported mounting domestic criticism of Japan's "cautious"
approach to China policy following the Nixon announcement.

--Manila media carried a statement by President Marcos that "the change
in the policy of the U.S. will now mean that every Asian nation and leader must
review the basis for all agreements" with the U.S.

--Vientiane's Xat Lao said some smaller nations "fear that the reconciliation
between the two giant powers will be made" at their expense.

--Indian newspapers discussed possible consequences for India of what they took to be close ties between Pakistan and the U.S., as well as of a Sino-U.S. rapprochement.

Peking media remained silent on the proposed visit while sharply attacking "U.S.
imperialism." Although Hanoi and Viet Cong media still have not mentioned
the announcement, they have insisted upon their independence and determination
in a manner which suggests concern about possible U.S.-Communist Chinese
rapprochement at their expense. Soviet media have held to minimal indirect
comment.

* * *

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## Paris: "Peking's Diplomatic Offensive"

Peking-Washington relations remained a major foreign topic in French media. The eight-point plan reportedly proposed by Chou En-lai for normalization of the relationship drew wide play yesterday on TV and in the press.

Today's papers gave prominence to Chou's meeting with a group of American students and to sometimes contradictory reports of probable U.S. reaction. These were Paris headlines:

"CHOU EN-LAI EMBARRASSES NIXON"

(Moderate-right Aurore)

"PEKING STEPS UP ITS DIPLOMATIC OFFENSIVE. But the Two Vietnams are Afraid of the Cost of the Sino-American Thaw. Chou En-lai Tries to Reassure Hanoi"

(Gaullist La Nation)

"CHOU EN-LAI SPECIFIES CONDITIONS FOR OFFICIAL DIALOGUE WITH WASHINGTON. 'Total Withdrawal of American Forces from Vietnam Is a More Urgent Demand Than Establishment of Relations with the U.S.' No Surprise to White House"

(Moderate Figaro)

"Questions for Peking"

Raymond Aron wrote in Figaro today that Mr. Nixon's proposed trip to Peking constitutes "a success for People's China, quarantined for more than 20 years," but that at the same time this "success hardly tallies with the open claim of Mao and his companions to be the only ones to embody revolutionary fervor."

Aron said a question for Peking was, "If Nixon represents the good people and not the bad monopolies, how is it possible to continue to identify U.S. diplomacy with the imperialist monster? Would it not be better to make a distinction between ideological intransigence and state-to-state relations, but wouldn't such a distinction mark the beginning of revisionism?"

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On Monday, Aron asserted in the same paper that Mr. Nixon's announcement that he had accepted an invitation to go to Peking opened a new era in Asia.

## "Let Us Welcome This Initiative"

Gaullist La Nation, which is often critical of U.S. policies, editorialized on Monday:

> "The concerns of traditional U.S. allies would be understandable if the U.S. were ready to sacrifice them on the altar of reconciliation. This is quite unlikely.... The U.S. is a great country, conscious of its world responsibilities. It knows how to differentiate between conversation and concession.

> "Without illusions or skepticism, let us welcome this new initiative of American and Chinese policy which increases the chances of peace."

## Warning of "Inferior Position"

However, rightist opposition Aurore warned that "in contrast to his position of strength on the domestic front, Nixon will be in an inferior position in negotiations with China.

> "He will be the one who has things to ask and will play on the adversary's home ground. A failure would be a catastrophe for him. Henceforth China's pressure will be very heavy to obtain the sacrifice of Taiwan and total U.S. disengagement in Asia--in other words, a repudiation of American commitments made since the end of the war."

In spite of this concern, the paper expressed confidence that Mr. Nixon would not "surrender" in order to obtain agreement with Peking.

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# "Re-election Assured"

Financial _Les Echos_ of Paris judged on Monday that Mr. Nixon had "assured his re-election in 1972!" and "is fulfilling one of his election promises: to replace the era of confrontation with an era of negotiation."

## London: "The Russians Are Worried"

British press attention to the China visit yesterday and today focused on the attitude of the Soviet Union and reported Hanoi-Peking differences.

Today's liberal _Guardian_ of Manchester and London said:

> "It is obvious enough from Moscow's earlier comments on the whole trend of ping-pong diplomacy that the Russians are deeply worried. The latest astonishing turn must have both infuriated and frightened them....

> "An overanxious Soviet Union is hardly going to be a factor for peace. Yet the fact remains that President Nixon's agreement with the Chinese is the most dramatic defeat in foreign policy which the Soviet Union has suffered since the defection of Yugoslavia. It symbolizes just how far the Sino-Soviet split has gone."

The paper asked, "Will the new Chinese-American rapprochement finally bring the Russians to see that pounding the table is not a policy, or will it only heighten the jitteriness that seems to pervade the Kremlin?...."

> "President Nixon must do his utmost now to calm the Russians' wilder fears. The visit to Peking is not directed against the Soviet Union...and must not become so....

> "Some American Senators have suggested that Mr. Nixon should also visit Moscow. There is sound sense in that."

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In an article on Under Secretary of State Irwin's visit to London, the paper reported that "President Nixon plans to announce the Administration's policy on Chinese representation at the U.N. within two weeks. The Foreign Secretary, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, was told this yesterday when he saw Mr. John Irwin....

"Mr. Irwin emphasized that the Administration had no intention of abandoning Taiwan. The assumption in London seems to be that the U.S. will promote a two-China resolution in the U.N. The hope appears to be that General Chiang Kai-shek's representative will either withdraw before the resolution comes up for debate, or walk out if a two-China resolution is put to the vote, thus leaving Peking in unchallenged possession of the Chinese seat."

## Hanoi-Peking "Upheaval...Rift"

A story in yesterday's London *Daily Mail* said that "one of the most fascinating side-effects" of Mr. Nixon's proposed trip to Peking now being studied in Washington "is an apparent upheaval in China's relations with North Vietnam. Hanoi's resentment at the bullying of great powers spilled out" on Monday in a Hanoi newspaper editorial.

The *Times* of London declared in a story from Hong Kong that "Hanoi apparently realizes that China is now more concerned--as the Chinese press and radio clearly reveal--with the possibility of a Japanese military threat which could use Formosa and South Korea as springboards."

"This shift in China's strategic thinking has made Indochina much less important to Peking, particularly with the steady rundown of American troops in Vietnam."

In an editorial, the paper commented:

"The rift between these two neighbors should be a reminder of the realism that has always governed China's attitude to Vietnam. First and foremost has always been China's security and now that that is assured, with the war running down, the future political arrangements for Indochina are secondary."

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## West Germany Media Play

News play and comment on President Nixon's planned visit to Peking dropped sharply in West German media.

First network TV reported tonight that five U.S. Senators are planning to visit China in advance of President Nixon. The network's Paris correspondent reported that "Paris expects more political elbow room for itself as a result of Nixon's new China policy, especially with the smaller nations. France... is trying to strengthen its own position."

## "Completes Erosion of Blocs"

Duesseldorf's right-center Handelsblatt declared yesterday that "President Nixon has passed on the left both the Republican and Democratic left wings, both of which believe that softness toward Communist governments is a panacea...

"The about-face of U.S. and Chinese policy completes the erosion of the blocs.... The result is a return to the diplomacy prevailing before the cold war and also before the two World Wars.

"In world politics, polarization is an unusual state. The normal state is the so-called concert of nations, which, even though occasionally disharmonious, balances individual interests. The future now will see another free-for-all game, with the U.S., the Soviet Union, China, a unified Europe, and a Japan coalesced with other Asian powers."

## West Berlin: U.S. Message to Chiang Kai-shek

Papers today reported that President Nixon' had assured President Chiang Kai-shek that the U.S. would fulfill its commitments to Taiwan.

## "Bitter Awakening for Taiwan"

Independent Tagesspiegel said today that "the change of U.S. policy toward China is a bitter awakening for Taiwan, for the support of Chiang Kai-shek's claim to be the legitimate regime of China was part of the American isolation of Red China which is now coming to an end....

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"But fictitious claims on lost positions can be main-
tained only for a limited period of time--so long as a
favorable international political constellation and the
strength of mighty allies permit it.

"Nixon's assurance to the aged Chief of State Chiang Kai-shek... draws the limit of the engagement which Washington is still willing to fulfill toward Formosa. Taipei will have to develop a more modest vision of the future."

"Concern in Southeast Asia"

The paper's correspondent in Saigon, describing a "complete, overnight change" in the political scene in Southeast Asia, said observers there were asking whether the U.S. and Communist China "can reach a modus vivendi--whether Peking will refrain from kindling and actively supporting Communist revolutions in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma or elsewhere, not to mention Vietnam.

"Only the future will tell. But this is the question that is of the greatest interest in the capitals of Southeast Asia."

Rome: "Chou Insists on Withdrawal"

Socialist Avanti of Rome front-paged a news agency story under the heading: "Chou's Meeting with a Group of U.S. University Students. Insists on the Withdrawal of U.S. Troops from Vietnam.... White House Message Supports Chiang Kai-shek..." The paper commented:

"There are three problems which endanger U.S. Vietnam policy and U.S.-USSR relations--the two strongholds of U.S. strategy in the world. These problems are China's seat at the U.N., the Taiwan issue and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam.... The upsetting of old balances caused by the U.S.-China dialogue will inevitably result in Peking's entry into the U.N...."

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# "A Guarantee to Belgrade and Bucharest"

Prestigious *Corriere della Sera* of Milan, in a front-page editorial entitled, "A Triangular Balance," suggested that "the emergence of a third super-power represents a guarantee to Belgrade and Bucharest" in the face of the Brezhnev doctrine on intervention.

The Monday editorial in Hanoi's *Nhan Dan* criticizing the Nixon Doctrine drew wide play in yesterday's Italian papers. Communist dailies gave it especially prominent play.

## Press, TV Reporting

Today, papers reported Chou En-lai's meeting with American students, Under Secretary Irwin's statement in London that the U.S. will decide in two weeks on a stand on Chinese representation in the U.N., President Nixon's reported letter to Chiang Kai-shek, and a *People's Daily* article stressing that Peking will not forsake its Asian allies.

State-run TV noted Mr. Irwin's statement and reported "disagreement" between Hanoi and Peking.

## Zurich: "May Lead to Global Restructuring"

Switzerland's prestigious independent *Neue Zuercher Zeitung* today assessed possible effects of Sino-U.S. rapprochement in Asia. It stated that "China's policy shift will change the scene in Indochina, Southeast Asia in general, and Japan's role as a potential guarantor of order in Asia. Pursuing the historic aim of engaging China in a peace program for Asia, Washington presumably has prepared for this change and the ensuing strain on its relations with the anti-Communist capitals in Asia.

"If Nixon, whose excellent China specialists adequately interpreted the trends in Peking and urged him to take this trip, secures China's cooperation in this program, the laments from Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo and Bangkok will lose relevance. So will the doubts of Pyongyang, Hanoi and the Peking-based governments in exile, assuming that pragmatism dominates the policies of the two great powers.

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"America's bold China policy lacks any taint of treason....

"...Southeast Asia has been led by the Guam Doctrine to prepare for coexistence with China.

"The policy shift has a greater impact on Japan, which sought to become a bridge between Washington and Peking, but which now will remain an offshore island state.... Such awareness may touch off a Japanese quest for more flexible policy and a toying with the idea of denouncing the Japanese-U.S. Security Treaty in order to speed up reconciliation with China....

"Last but not least, the San Clemente announcement challenges the role of the Soviet Union as an Asian power.

"A new phase in Asian and Pacific history has been initiated and it may lead to a global restructuring."

### Sweden: "Hope for Vietnam Settlement"

Swedish comment on the President's announcement remained uniformly favorable. Editorialists of all political shades saw it as indicating that the U.S. is abandoning its "cold-war view" of China and adopting a "realistic" policy.

### Independent-liberal Goteborgs Handels Tidning judged:

"In many ways an old-fashioned balance of power is being established throughout the world. In this global balance the U.S. and the Soviet Union are still the largest weights, but that does not prevent Moscow from looking askance at its Communist brother's invitation to President Nixon.

"In any case one can begin to hope for a negotiated settlement in Vietnam. And President Nixon also has another hope. If all goes well he will be re-elected next year--by the Chinese archenemy."

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Tokyo: Criticism of Government's Reactions

Media played up the Diet debate on Japan's China policy following Mr. Nixon's move. The "cautious" approach outlined by the Government drew mounting criticism.

Independent-liberal Asahi said that Prime Minister Sato, had "failed completely to provide any new direction....

"The opposition parties are demanding the Prime Minister's resignation precisely because they know that Mr. Sato... no longer has the ability or the qualifications to take even a single step toward restoring ties between Japan and China....

"We simply cannot accept that the Prime Minister's words that he is now 'making maximum efforts'... reflect his true intentions. It is most unfortunate that we must clearly admit the existence of this credibility gap."

"U.S. Did Not Consult Japan"

Independent-moderate Mainichi said that "the question of China, of course... requires a 'cautious approach' as the Prime Minister has repeatedly emphasized. But so far Mr. Sato... has not indicated what objective the Government is trying to achieve with its cautious attitude... as far as China is concerned....

"It is still fresh in our memories that the U.S. and Japan, during their annual conference last year, promised to hold close consultations on the China problem. The U.S. did not consult Japan before deciding on the Presidential visit to China---a decision which is, in fact, a drastic change in U.S. policy toward China."

Taipei Reports Letter to Chiang

Media continued heavy coverage and critical comment.

Taipei radio reported yesterday that President Chiang Kai-shek had received from Mr. Nixon a personal letter which, "it was learned from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," contained "assurance... that the U.S. will continue to honor its defense treaty commitment to the Republic of China.... and to maintain the continuing friendship with her."

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## Manila: Marcos Statement

Manila media reported that President Marcos declared in a speech yesterday:

> "The change in the policy of the U.S. will now mean that every Asian nation and leader must review the basis for all the agreements between the U.S. and their respective countries.... With these new policies... anything is possible in Asia, and we must prepare for anything."

> "Right Thing for the Wrong Reason"

The *Manila Chronicle* wrote today:

> "The bitter fact... is that President Nixon is facing re-election some months after May.... It might be observed that Richard Nixon is doing the right thing for the wrong reason. No matter. He is doing the right thing, period."

The business-oriented *Evening News* of Manila saw in Mr. Nixon's "bold quest ... an ability to profit from the lessons of the past, a firm grip of the present, and an uncanny feeling for the exigencies and challenges of the future."

## Cambodian Statement

Phnom Penh radio carried a Government statement saying, "We harbor no suspicions upon receiving the news.... The Khmer Government has followed closely the tremendous efforts of the U.S. Government to improve relations with the People's Republic of China.... Our Government hopes the coming meeting between the leaders of the two countries... will produce concrete results for our own region."

> Vientiane: "At the Expense of Smaller Nations?"

Right-of-center *Xat Lao* of Vientiane called Mr. Nixon's acceptance "exciting and joyful news," but added:

> "Some of the smaller Asian nations which draw military and economic assistance from the U.S. and from mainland China... fear that the reconciliation between the two giant powers will be made at the expense of these smaller countries."

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## Saigon: Thieu Statement

Saigon radio yesterday reported a speech by President Thieu in which he said:

> "The big powers are in a good, conciliatory mood.... I hope President Nixon's visit... will be an initial step toward building peace in Southeast Asia. But I am not optimistic. I do not believe that all these events, like a magic wand, will bring good results."

## New Delhi: Swaran Singh Statement

Indian media today played prominently Foreign Minister Swaran Singh's statement yesterday that India "welcomes" President Nixon's visit to Peking and the prospect for improvement in Sino-U.S. relations, but that such improvement must not come at the expense of nations in the area nor lead to the development of spheres of influence and interference in domestic affairs.

## "Kissinger Visit is Camouflage"

Newspapers continued to discuss possible consequences for India of what they took to be close ties between Pakistan and the U.S., as well as of a Sino-U.S. rapprochement. The pervading tone in voluminous comment was one of suspicion of U.S. intentions toward India.

A representative comment appeared today in the independent, left-center *Free Press Journal* of Bombay, which frequently criticizes Indian and U.S. policy. The writer, reporting the parliamentary debate in New Delhi, said:

> "Significantly enough, Prime Minister Gandhi was discreetly silent, leaving it to her External Affairs Minister to say something for the consumption of the outside world. She was not at all happy about the mode or timing of the visit to India of Dr. Kissinger... She somehow realized that his visit to India was only a camouflage to achieve an ulterior motive..."

The correspondent asserted that Peking was motivated to deal with "imperialist" America because of the USSR's "fast-spreading influence" in West Asia--which China and the U.S. had a common interest to contain--and because of a "vacuum" developing as a result of the withdrawal of British influence from the Indian

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Ocean and Southeast Asia "which China would like to fill, with America's help," In exchange, the writer said, China would help the U. S. maintain its hold in East Asia. He concluded:

"It is now clear that the shrewd Prime Minister of India anticipated the evil designs of President Nixon and Chou En-lai when they agreed to meet.

"Sinologists are afraid that there is a deep-rooted conspiracy between Pakistan, China and the U. S. to humble India in the Southeast Asia scene. The U. S. never wanted India to be a power, even in her own right in Asia. From the days of President Eisenhower, who first initiated the arms aid program to Pakistan, Washington has been behaving in a funny way toward India.

"That was perhaps the main reason why India had been driven to the dire necessity of seeking and maintaining the friendship of the Soviet Union. Indo-Soviet friendship has been dictated by circumstances....

"The time has come for India to review her foreign policy with a view to asserting our national interest...."

## Pakistan: Praise For Acceptance

Pakistani papers continued to praise President Nixon's decision. A typical view was that of East Pakistan's leading English-language *Pakistan Observer*, which said yesterday:

"With China and America coming closer, one can reasonably hope that peace in Asia and in the world will be established on stronger foundations. For the people of the world, nothing is more welcome than the fact that the big powers find ways and means to live together and that the dangers of a nuclear holocaust be eliminated."

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## Mexico City: "Justifies New Nixon Policy"

All media have given top attention to the President's planned trip to Peking, welcoming his decision in editorials for its promise of peace in Southeast Asia and for facilitating the end of China's international isolation.

Middle-of-the-road **Novedades** yesterday reiterated Pope Paul's comment that "persistence will be necessary" to advance the cause of peace.

Earlier the paper maintained that in Washington-Peking talks "neither South Vietnam nor Taiwan will be sacrificed." It asserted that "China must be brought into the world community.

"President Nixon's decision will certainly accelerate this development, which should result in a firm and lasting peace in the Far East, especially in Indochina. This development should help guarantee world peace... and this by itself justifies the new Nixon policy."

Business-oriented **El Universal** yesterday observed that although "a new chapter" has been opened in Sino-U.S. relations, "how Mr. Nixon will overcome obstacles like hard-line anti-Communism is still 'top secret.'" On Monday it predicted that "great benefits" would derive from the leaders' discussions.

## "The Moment Is Propitious"

A columnist in conservative **Excelsior** said that the implications of the new relationship between China and the U.S. "are multiple and transcendental. The moment is propitious... because it is clear that the antagonism between the Chinese and Soviet Communist Parties is certain and unavoidable..."

A leftist writer in the same newspaper "congratulated" President Nixon "on his goodwill trip to China," but expressed doubt that "these friendly gestures are based on mutual benevolence and sincerity....

"What worries us is the fear that this friendship will last... only as long as profit motives and the fear of losing the Vietnam war persist."

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Rio de Janeiro: "A Fiasco Would Be Fatal"

The liberal influential news magazine Veja, out yesterday, said that President Nixon's decision "at one stroke... opens new perspectives" for the solution of the Vietnam war, the admission of China to the U. N. and the solution of other international problems.

"There are also risks involved in the trip. Nixon must achieve positive results... He has made an audacious step. A fiasco would be fatal."

Pro-Government Diario de Noticias reported yesterday that only Communist countries are expressing reservations about President Nixon's proposed visit to Peking. It said that nations of the "third world... must understand that... the old ideological line about China no longer counts for anything.

"China, as a country and not just as a source of ideological arguments, has just been introduced to the world by Nixon, the President of the U. S."

"Tops FDR Recognition of USSR"

Earlier the paper judged that President Nixon's decision to accept the invitation "will have much more important consequences than the recognition of the Soviet Union by President Roosevelt.... The consequences of Nixon's initiative involve, above all, a new world position for China.... It is important that China participate in a peace agreement in Asia..."

The paper said that after the initial surprise, the decision "was like a piece of a puzzle which fits perfectly into the great game of humanity. The hour of decision came and found the table set and everything in place."

"Did Not Consult Allies"

A columnist in yesterday's O Jornal was concerned that the decision "might weaken" the U. S. position of leadership because Mr. Nixon did not consult his European and Latin American allies in advance but "carried out the decision under the sole inspiration of his own personal political interests."

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An earlier editorial in the paper, however, called the President's "trans-
cendental decision a positive step in his foreign policy....

"We hope that Nixon's move will truly lead to peace
and that it will not cause complications in other
areas of the world..."

"Masterly... Great Risk"

Liberal Folha da Sao Paulo called the President's initiative "a masterly maneu-
ver because he places Hanoi, the Viet Cong, Saigon and all other Asian countries
indirectly connected with the Indochina conflict on a subordinate level and
addresses directly the valid interlocutor, Peking.

"And he places Moscow in a corner on the chessboard...
However, like all masterly maneuvers, it implies a
great risk."

Santiago TV: "Proved Chile's Correctness"

National TV asserted that President Nixon's acceptance of the invitation to Peking "proved the correctness" of Chile's China policy.

"Chinese Acquiescence Strange"

Marxist Clarin of Santiago said on Monday that President Nixon had accepted the invitation "because he knows that his political fortune is tied to the results of the Vietnam war and he desires to conclude that with dignity." The paper called Chairman Mao's "acquiescence...strange" because it implied "a renunciation of the impulse toward socialism throughout Asia."

El Mercurio said on the weekend that the President's decision reversed the "23-year old policy of trying to ignore" the existence of China and demonstrated that "ideological frontiers have crumbled definitively...

"Governments are ruled by their national interests, not by the intransigent defense of specific ideologies."

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"China Can Exploit U.S. Contradictions"

Pro-Government La Nacion of Santiago declared:

"Chinese-U.S. contacts not only entail the removal of the dangers of an all-out war, but Chinese diplomacy is sufficiently capable of exploiting U.S. internal contradictions, and Chinese diplomats must certainly be smiling at the fact that the visit to China of a group of U.S. ping-pong players is leading to a visit by Nixon himself...."

"To Washington, it is better to cage the enemy behind the U.N. bars rather than to let it run loose. But this intention will be frustrated because Peking has no interest in the U.N. if joining implies abandoning its nuclear policy or accepting the two-China policy..."

Buenos Aires: "Advantageous to U.S."

Conservative La Nacion of Buenos Aires said, "The trip implies a possible readjustment of the whole of U.S. foreign policy...provided China changes accordingly....Sometime in the future, Moscow may reconcile its differences with Peking. It will always be more advantageous for the U.S. to negotiate simultaneously with the two heads of the Communist world as long as each mistrusts the other..."

Nationalistic left-center Clarin said acceptance of the invitation means "that the U.S. has abandoned the idea of a Red Chinese expansionist policy."

Lima: "Three Reasons for China"

An analyst in Government-controlled La Cronica of Lima said on Monday that there were three reasons for China's "change of attitude:

"First, to end its isolation: second, to help solve the commercial and technological problems in China's economy; and third, to find a balance against the Soviet Union."

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# "Liquidates Spheres of Influence"

Leftist Expreso's analyst declared yesterday that the "unquestionable success" of Peking's cultural revolution and China's political consolidation and "enormous industrial advance" had convinced "even the U.S." of the necessity to deal with China. He concluded:

> "All this tends to liquidate the international strategy of the superpowers of dividing the world into spheres of influence.... This view is shared by all nations of the third world, in the majority of which the Chinese position is decisively influential."

## Caracas: "Beginning of End of Vietnam War"

A commentator in conservative La Verdad of Caracas yesterday wrote that "no one can criticize nor object to the step which President Nixon is going to take."

> "It suits his country. It suits the world, and it is the beginning of the real end of the war in Indochina. It is a play in the game of international politics in which there are no puritanical rules. The immediate interest of a country or group of countries is what counts most."

A leftist member of Parliament, writing in yesterday's Ultimas Noticias, said the Communist Chinese were motivated by their difficulties with the Russians, the aftereffects of the cultural revolution and the desire to overcome their isolation, while America's concern was "the crumbling of its disastrous policy in Vietnam." He concluded:

> "The new relations should probably discourage dogmatists. Those who are tied to a fixed position generally are left behind by reality. As for adhering to a revolutionary policy, it should not be forgotten that once installed, a revolutionary policy takes hold and proceeds to operate in conformity with national self-interest."

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Peking: Silent on Visit, Attacks "U.S. Aggression"

Peking media remained silent on the announced visit of Mr. Nixon while sharply attacking "U.S. imperialism" for a decade of "interference in and aggression against Vietnam and Indochina."

The most recent but not untypical attack (see WTCI No. 97, July 19, 1971) came in a *People's Daily* editorial yesterday marking the 17th anniversary of the Geneva Agreements. The text of it was broadcast on Monday by Peking radio.

The editorial asserted that "U.S. imperialism has been the chief culprit responsible for tearing up the Geneva Agreements, trampling underfoot the independence and sovereignty of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and disrupting the peaceful unification of Vietnam. U.S. imperialism is the ferocious enemy of the peoples of Indochina, Asia and the entire world."

The paper charged that "today U.S. imperialism is in a predicament both at home and abroad from which it can scarcely extricate itself" because of "the great victories of the peoples of Vietnam and the three Indochinese countries in their war against U.S. aggression...

"The key to the solution of the Vietnam question is a complete and total withdrawal of U.S. aggressor troops and its lackey troops from South Vietnam. This will enable the Vietnamese people to solve their own problems."

The paper contended that the Viet Cong seven-point proposal of July 1 "has set the correct course for the peaceful solution of the Vietnam question. The Chinese Government and people resolutely and entirely support it."

The editorial concluded with a reaffirmation of Chairman Mao's pledge that "the 700 million Chinese people provide a powerful backing for the Vietnamese people; the vast expanse of China's territory is the reliable rear area..."

"Acting in accordance with Chairman Mao's instruction, the Chinese people will continue to give full support to the peoples of Vietnam and the three Indochinese countries in their war against U.S. aggression and for national salvation until final and complete victory."

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Hanoi, Viet Cong: Expressions of Independence

Although Hanoi and Viet Cong media have still not mentioned the announcement
of the planned Peking visit, they have insisted upon their independence and
determination in a manner which suggests concern about possible U.S.-
Communist Chinese rapprochement at their expense.

Thus Nhan Dan, in an editorial yesterday on the Geneva Agreements
anniversary, said:

"What a pride we feel about our Party's correct and creative independence and sovereign line!... Whatever perfidious trick [the U.S. aggressors] may use in their bustle in search of a way out, the Nixon clique cannot avoid failure. Since all their efforts on the battlefront have failed to help them turn the tide, all their bustle will be only futile effort. The decisive voice belongs only to those who are defeating them...

"The destiny of Vietnam is decided by the Vietnamese."

The Viet Cong's Liberation Radio said on Tuesday:

"In recent days Nixon has sent his diplomats all around the world. Perhaps high-ranking U.S. officials are exerting more efforts abroad these days than at any time in the past. Presidential security adviser Henry Kissinger traveled around the world, mainly to Asian countries.... One cannot help taking interest in these political spinning tops. Everywhere they went these tops reiterated Nixon's peace refrain and claimed that they only sought 'negotiations...'

"Through these diplomatic moves, Nixon wants to make public opinion erroneously assume that the U.S. Government also is making efforts aimed at ending the war..."

Moscow: Minimal Indirect Comment

Soviet media have not yet found a confident position to take, but their minimal
indirect comment to date and Eastern European media output (WTCI No. 97,
July 19, 1971) contain two main themes: The planned visit is based on anti-
Sovietism; the U.S. must reply to the Viet Cong seven-point proposal,
which is the immediate, real path to peace as opposed to a summit journey
undertaken for suspect motives.

No. 98

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7/21/71

... Western Europe, p. 2

... Asia, p. 11

... Africa, p. 17

... Communist Countries, p. 20

# PRESIDENT'S ACCEPTANCE OF INVITATION TO PEKING - V

## Summary

A week after President Nixon's announcement that he will visit Communist China, foreign media prominently reported events related to the proposed trip while awaiting further statements or actions from Washington and Peking.

Noting that the U.S. was discouraging speculation in order not to hinder arrangements for the visit, some media reported the Rogers-Dobrynin talk and supposed that the U.S. was suggesting a Nixon trip to Moscow.

News stories noted the Wednesday vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to repeal the 1955 Formosa Resolution and yesterday's unproductive session of the Vietnam talks in Paris.

Comment on Mr. Nixon's acceptance, generally enthusiastic in Western Europe, Latin America, and Africa, tapered off. Expressions of concern about possible effects of big-power realignments--especially the effects on smaller nations--continued in some West European as well as East Asian and Indian media:

—Les Echos of Paris, saying the Communist delegates at the Vietnam talks yesterday "were unable to conceal the fact that they had no other weapons than their determination," contended that their plight "poses the problem of the means available to protegees of China and the U.S. to make their voices heard in the major negotiations that have been initiated."

—The London Economist said Mr. Nixon's "action deserves acclaim," but it noted a "lack of enthusiasm shown by the governments not only of Taiwan but also of Russia, Japan, India and others..."

—The Australian of Canberra said, "...We can no longer depend on...the special relationship with America....Ouch."

—The Hindu of Madras said Indian legislators "were naturally concerned over the emerging Washington-Islamabad-Peking axis and its possible repercussions for India."

Hanoi and Viet Cong media continued to reflect deep concern over the implications of Mr. Nixon's planned visit, although they have not yet mentioned the simultaneous announcement of it by the President and Peking. Peking media remained silent on the subject. Moscow asserted its thesis that the move represents Sino-U.S. "collusion" and is essentially "anti-Soviet" in character.

No. 99

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## Paris: "Pathetic Turn at Vietnam Talks"

French media reported that at yesterday's session of the Vietnam talks, "no mention" was made of President Nixon's projected trip to Peking, and that Washington did not respond to the PRG proposals.

Financial _Les Echos_ of Paris observed:

> "The murky game played at the Paris conference on Vietnam took a pathetic turn yesterday. In the uncertain light of Sino-American rapprochement, the North Vietnamese brandished the torch of the independence and sovereignty of the small nations in the face of the big ones, but were unable to conceal the fact that they had no other weapons than their determination."

The paper said the Communist side's situation yesterday "poses the problem of the means available to proteges of China and the U.S. to make their voices heard in the major negotiations that have been initiated."

> "Except for Japan, no country in the American zone of influence has enough economic strength to be able to disregard possible political pressures from its big protector."

> "There is scarcely more elbow room for states and revolutionary movements sponsored by Peking."

> "The now obvious failure of the Paris conference illustrates this. The U.S. did not even respond to the PRG's peace plan."

## Chou's "Foul Blow"

Moderate-right _Aurore_ asserted yesterday that Chou En-lai had dealt a "foul blow" to rapprochement while President Nixon was trying to make "discreet" arrangements for his trip to Peking. The paper wrote:

> "The difficulties for Sino-American rapprochement are becoming clearer. There are foul blows in ping-pong diplomacy too, and Washington official circles are convinced that Chou En-lai deliberately dealt one when he publicly asserted to American students that the withdrawal of all American troops and personnel from Indochina took priority over restoring Peking-Washington relations."

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"Washington knows of course that People's China must also reassure its allies following its astonishing about-face toward the U.S. But it believes that Chou En-lai might have done so more discreetly, like Mr. Nixon, who sent a personal message to Chiang Kai-shek....

"This untoward event is most embarrassing for the White House because it ruins Mr. Nixon's hope to be able discreetly, behind the smoke screen of quiet diplomacy, to make arrangements for his trip."

The paper saw Moscow "strengthened" by Sino-U.S. "difficulties." It declared that "the difficulties which become apparent as soon as the fundamental problems are dealt with by Peking or Washington appear to strengthen the position of Moscow, which considers itself the prime target of Sino-U.S. rapprochement. The assurances which Mr. Rogers is believed to have given Ambassador Dobrynin do not stand a chance of convincing the Kremlin."

## "Nixon's Dream: To Meet With Soviets First"

On the subject of Moscow's position, the Washington correspondent of moderately conservative Figaro of Paris reported yesterday:

"Mr. Rogers suggested to Ambassador Dobrynin that to please the Soviet leaders, Mr. Nixon would be quite disposed to go to Helsinki, Vienna, or even the Kremlin to sign a SALT agreement.

"Wouldn't this be a wonderful occasion to meet, lay one's cards on the table, and settle a certain number of serious matters before the President goes to Peking to open the great conversation with Mao, probably not knowing how far it may lead?...

"How true it is that in a few words last Thursday, Mr. Nixon modified all the rules of the game.... It takes two to play chess, but with three partners, all the elements are there for a good poker game....

No. 99

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"In a few sibylline words yesterday, Chou En-lai made a false bid. The stakes are now likely to be raised by Moscow, and Mr. Nixon will meet them."

The report was headed: "Nixon's Dream: To Meet With Soviet Leaders Before Going to China."

## TV Reporting

State-run French television yesterday reported a Government spokesman's remarks on the "favorable view" taken at Wednesday's Council of Ministers session on U.S.-Communist China developments.

Television also took note of reports that "President Nixon and Secretary Rogers have decided to embargo all official information and comment on relations between the U.S. and People's China in order not to compromise the Nixon trip to Peking."

### London: Formosa Resolution, Chou's Remarks to Students

The Washington correspondent of the independent *Times* of London reported yesterday:

"If both Houses of Congress should now vote to repeal the Formosa resolution, this might have the effect of reassuring Peking that the American commitment to the Nationalist Government is no longer absolute."

He added that Administration officials said on Wednesday that in speaking to a group of Americans students, Chou En-lai "was putting forward the maximum conditions for restoring normal relations with America."

"But this was an indication of the magnitude of the task facing Mr. Nixon on his Peking visit."

No. 99

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7/23/71

Yesterday the paper carried an Agence France Presse story quoting "diplomatic observers" in Peking as saying that "Peking and Washington have already made a start on what are expected to be long and difficult negotiations by agreeing on a list of their main differences.

"The statement to visiting American students by... Chou... shows that China is insisting on the withdrawal of all American troops from Indochina and is refusing to consider Formosa as anything but a province subject to Peking."

The conservative London *Daily Telegraph* reported from Washington that "America does not want to take risks over her efforts to keep Formosa in the U.N. unless Formosa is prepared to accept the concept of dual representation, Mr. Rogers... has been telling ambassadors in Washington. He fears that American efforts to keep her in might collapse unless she accepts dual representation."

"Some Have Misgivings..."

Meanwhile, British weeklies today ran their first commentaries on the President's announcement that he has accepted an invitation to go to Peking.

The prestigious, independent *Economist* stated flatly that "the President's action deserves acclaim." But it noted a "lack of enthusiasm shown by the governments not only of Taiwan but also of Russia, Japan, India and others who most notably include North Vietnam.

"When the rulers of something like one billion people... display acute misgivings, it is enough to show that Mr. Nixon's projected trip has a very complex significance..."

The weekly observed that Mr. Nixon "is not in Peking yet, and he may never get there; but if the Chinese cancel their invitation without good and sufficient reason, their mah-jong score will suffer while his will be unimpaired...."

"If Mr. Nixon maintains his present course on Vietnam and continues to reduce the American military strength there, he will give Mr. Chou no valid pretext for canceling the invitation on that score."

No. 99

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7/23/71

## TV: Pro and Con on President's Action

BBC radio yesterday carried a transatlantic discussion by three correspondents of the President's planned visit to Peking.

Washington correspondent Charles Wheeler maintained that there are "quite a lot of diplomats going around Washington saying 'the man is electioneering.' The Americans are being as usual over-dramatic--one minute they hate the Chinese and the next minute they love them."

Douglas Stuart, a former BBC Washington correspondent, asserted that a number of Congressmen believe President Nixon may have taken a big foreign policy step too fast. The correspondent declared, "If between now and the visit to Peking anything goes sour, he has lost a great deal more than the Chinese will have lost."

Wheeler agreed with this but said he felt there was no alternative for Mr. Nixon. He maintained that "there is a need in America for some kind of atonement for the Vietnam war. The country needs some sign that a line is being drawn under the mistakes of the past..."

Wheeler added, "Nixon's own position at the moment is not very good... Washington was beginning to say that any Democrat can beat this man next year. He has a chance now if this thing goes well..."

BBC diplomatic correspondent Christopher Serpell thought the China visit "might lead to some sort of Southeast Asian international conference--a Geneva in excelsis."

## Hamburg: "Reasons for Bonn's Marked Reserve"

A commentator in right-center Die Welt of Hamburg wrote yesterday that "the Federal Republic is the only West European government to react to the U.S.-China rapprochement with marked reserve. It is aware that the present developments are awkward for the Kremlin and is anxious to assure the Kremlin of its good conduct...."

No. 99

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7/23/71

"The FRG now has less reason than ever to make concessions to the Kremlin enabling the latter to make headway in Europe. On the other hand, no one in the West should create the impression that he seeks to change the status quo in Europe by any means other than suasion.

"What is of prime importance is that the FRG is aware of the necessity of U.S.-West European solidarity, and counters any attempt to erode it. The Kremlin may react to America's China policy by such an attempt. By failing to wreck it, we would deprive ourselves of the advantages which Nixon's China policy implies for us."

"U.S. Anxious Not to Disturb USSR"

Independent Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger of Cologne, commenting on the opposition's disagreement over what the FRG policy toward China should be, concluded that "all the Machiavellians who urge Bonn to join the China game of the great powers forget that even the U.S. is anxious not to let its flirtation with Peking disturb its quest for reconciliation with the Soviet Union."

The pro-Christian Democratic weekly Deutsche Zeitung of Stuttgart asked, "Has Nixon's China policy disavowed Brandt's Ostpolitik? Ought Brandt and Scheel have awaited Nixon's predictable move before negotiating and signing the Eastern agreements?..."

"The very fact that the Eastern agreements have materialized before Nixon's signal to China lends them importance by showing that they are more than a mere attempt by a satellite to adjust ... Moscow is and will remain the most important addressee of our Ostpolitik."

Another article observed:

"We say that not being a great power we cannot seek ties with China. We consider ourselves smaller than Austria, Cameroon, Kuwait and San Marino, all of which maintain ties with Peking. We argue that we do not know whether China wants dealings with us. But shouldn't we try to find out? Or are we afraid that this would cost us Moscow's goodwill?"

No. 99

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7/23/71

TV: "Progress... or New Confrontation?"

Second network TV last night asserted that "the Vietnam disaster explains the many new moves." Its commentator declared:

"The Sino-American dialogue seems to offer real progress... but it could just as well prove to become a new confrontation, an attempt to appease fears at home and abroad.

"The U.S. sacrifices the fiction of two Chinas and it alarms the USSR. China, on the other hand, alarms its own and America's allies if China sits down with the paper tiger himself....

"The great peace will not automatically arrive when China rolls out the red carpet. This peace will remain an illusion until the U.S. liquidates the Vietnam war. The attempt to cover up this fact failed after China called it a precondition for the planned talks. President Nixon is forced into the role of a supplicant who needs a success if he is to remain President."

Foreign Minister Scheel and Defense Minister Schmidt asserted last night on television that West Germany already maintained important economic relations with China and that there was no reason for the FRG "to copy U.S. diplomatic initiatives."

On the same program opposition leader Barzel stressed the "historic importance" of President Nixon's decision and maintained that West Germany "must take part in these initiatives toward China and the Chinese market."

"Saigon's Fear of U.S. Agreement to Withdraw"

On Tuesday, a second network commentator said the current South Vietnamese action in Cambodia "seems to be a political move, not a military necessity.

"The South Vietnamese Government wants to demonstrate strength before the national elections.... Consolation is badly needed in Saigon, especially since President Nixon announced his trip to Peking. The fear is growing that the U.S. might reach agreement with China on an honorable withdrawal and leave Vietnam, no matter what happens.

No. 99

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7/23/71

"Although President Nixon's new China policy is worthy of support, it remains obvious that the Asian countries which relied on U.S. support in the past are facing difficult times."

Rome TV: "U.S. Silent, Communists Talking"

Italian TV noted last night that although "U.S. official circles" were silent on the matter of China relations, "the Chinese, the North Vietnamese and the Soviets are talking about it today, although in an indirect way."

Italian radio described official U.S. silence:

"Now that she is riding the tiger, America wants to be left in peace to reflect."

This morning the radio reported that "Nixon and Rogers have held a long meeting" on the U.N. representation question, but that "because of Formosa's silence" no imminent announcement was expected. It said Washington and Tokyo were "in close touch on this subject." It then asserted:

"The prediction is that...the U.S. will not insist on a two-thirds majority vote for the admission of China.... Then Japan will request a two-thirds majority for the rejection of Formosa, which will not be rejected. The latter, however, will voluntarily leave its seat in the Security Council and will remain only as a member of specialized agencies."

Rightist Il Tempo of Rome today ran an wire service story headed, "USSR Increases Troops On Chinese Border--First Result of Thaw Policy."

The Moscow correspondent of prestigious Corriere della Sera of Milan said the Kremlin was "disconcerted" by the Sino-American rapprochement and that Moscow media were now mounting "heavy accusations against Mao."

Reports of U.S. "Feelers"

Yesterday, the paper reported that the U.S. had put out "feelers for a summit meeting with the Soviet Union, probably...before Nixon's China visit."

Left-of-center La Stampa of Turin reported today that despite White House denials, "rumors are spreading that the President had talks during the past few days with the Chinese Ambassador to Canada." It also reported "insistent rumors about a settlement of the Vietnam conflict next January."

No. 99

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7/23/71

Tokyo: Debate on China Policy

Japanese media played up the continuing Diet debate on China policy, reporting that Prime Minister Sato had "changed his stand" and officially indicated that he was ready to visit Peking.

A commentator on public-financed NHK-TV said today that despite Mr. Sato's "foward-looking and more flexible posture," he did not see "any substantial progress on the China question from the Prime Minister's replies to opposition questioning."

"U.S. Expresses Basic Stand"

Leading independent-liberal Asahi of Tokyo gave top play today to a report from "Foreign Ministry sources" on U.S. policy regarding U.N. representation for China. It was headlined:

"U.S. EXPRESSES BASIC STAND--CHINA'S RIGHT OF REPRESENTATION... Urges Transfer of Security Council Seat From ROC to China."

The paper front-paged a report from its Moscow correspondent citing "a very reliable source" that the Soviet Union had decided to dispatch Foreign Minister Gromyko to Peking. It said Gromyko had "already applied to China for a visa," but that the Chinese side was "delaying its decision as to whether it should receive him." The Soviets were said to be "feeling deeply perplexed." The correspondent continued:

"According to the same source, the USSR thinks that the major aim of China... in inviting President Nixon... is to resolve the Vietnam war between the U. S. and China, without the participation of the Soviet Union. Soviet authorities are also said to be deeply suspicious that China is planning to guarantee 'the honorable withdrawal of U.S. forces' by exercising its power and influence over North Vietnam and the South Vietnamese National Liberation Front."

No. 99

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7/23/71

# "Smaller Nations Are Uneasy"

Influential business-oriented Nihon Keizai of Tokyo declared today that Sino-American rapprochement was "causing unrest among medium-sized and small Asian nations." It said that not only North and South Vietnam, but also the Philippines, Malaysia and Australia were "feeling very uneasy."
The paper said that the U.S. and China should "make it clear that they will not intervene in local conflicts."

It asserted that Japan, "which is a big country economically, but not politically,"
should establish its own independent course in the new "era of coexistence."

## Seoul: "Korean Question" on Agenda?

Yesterday, Seoul papers played a report attributed to the Toronto Globe and Mail that Premier Chou En-lai had indicated that Peking would try to take up the "Korean question" at the coming talks with President Nixon. Chou was reported to have cited this as "one of four obstacles" standing in the way of Sino-American normalization of relations.

Papers earlier front-paged a report, attributed to The New York Times, that the Pentagon planned to move nuclear weapons from Okinawa to Korea, after a contemplated move to Taiwan and the Philippines was abandoned because of U.S. steps to improve relations with Communist China.

Last night's papers quoted a local American businessman and "columnist" as writing that the U.S. would try to make Korea "another Hong Kong" as a base for "expanded trade" with Communist China, and that this was the main purpose of the frequent visits to Korea recently by many high-ranking Administration officials and bankers.

Daehan Ilbo of Seoul asserted today that the Korean Government would welcome such a move.

## Manila: Marcos on "New Diplomacy"

At the opening yesterday in Manila of the joint conference of the World Anti-Communist League and the Asian People's Anti-Communist League, President Marcos reportedly told the 300 delegates from 43 countries that "the U.S.... has now faced up to the reality of Communist China...

No. 99

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7/23/71

"I do not believe that America or any other free nation similarly committed against totalitarianism will ever give ground to militant offensives of international Communism. Rather, the visit of President Nixon to Red China is the beginning of a new diplomacy--obsessed with the winning of the peace as the ultimate objective."

Melbourne: "Australia Out of Tune"

Australian media ran detailed analyses of the possible implications for Australia of Mr. Nixon's move.

The independent-conservative Melbourne Age asserted that Prime Minister McMahon's "humiliation on China" stemmed from the fact that his Government and the Gorton Government before it were "out of tune with the U.S...."

"The steady disengagement from Vietnam, the Nixon Doctrine... Mr. Nixon's personal emphasis on conciliation rather than confrontation, Washington's refusal to get excited about the Soviet 'threat' in the Indian Ocean--these and other aspects of American policy left the old Australian rhetoric about alliance hanging limply in the air...."

"Governments which have been agents of the containment strategy will need to adapt to the new course of American policy, even though its details will only be established in time through trial and error."

"Ouch!"

The foreign editor of the independent *Australian* of Canberra declared, "It is at last being realized that Australia does in fact stand alone, that we can no longer depend on the kith-and-kin relationship with Britain or the special relationship with America.... Ouch."

No. 99

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7/23/71

The prestigious *Sydney Morning Herald* ran this assessment by its South-east Asian specialist, Denis Warner:

> "For the first time, there is a chance that Mr. Nixon will succeed not only in withdrawing American forces from Vietnam before the American Presidential elections next year, but that South Vietnam will, in peace, be given a reasonable opportunity to determine its own destiny."

Madras: "Washington-Islamabad-Peking Axis"

The conservative *Hindu* of Madras said that the recent debate in Parliament revealed that members "were naturally concerned over the emerging Washington-Islamabad-Peking axis and its possible repercussions for India..." It concluded:

> "...It has come as a shock to find that Mr. Nixon is being soft to Pakistan because the latter had helped to set up his meeting with Premier Chou En-lai. American military aid has been flowing into Pakistan, despite the fact that imported guns are being used by the latter to destroy democracy in the East wing.

> "Whatever may be the outcome of the Nixon-Chou meeting for the immediate present, the Washington-Islamabad-Peking axis has served to bolster the military junta in Pakistan..."

"USSR Does Not Like Nixon Visit"

The *Maharashtra Times* of Bombay noted today that the Writer's Union of the USSR had charged the U. S. and China "with collaborating to achieve their own selfish ends." Stating that "it is clear that the USSR does not like the Nixon visit to Peking," the paper concluded:

> "The USSR has been trying all these years to isolate China. Now China has turned the tables against the Soviets....

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7/23/71

"India should let the big powers sort out their own differences. India should not side with the USSR and invite the enmity of the U. S. and China. On the other hand, India should guard its own interest by establishing good relations with China."

The *Mail* of Calcutta and Madras said yesterday that the excitement had subsided since the announcement of the President's visit to Peking and that speculation had turned to the agenda of Sino-American talks. It referred to Chou's "eight points" and to Mr. Nixon's letter to Chiang Kai-shek and concluded:

"Premier Chou En-lai has left President Nixon in no doubt of what Peking wants and, despite Washington's present evasions and equivocations, the President is committed to conceding it."

Today's *Indian Express* of Bombay declared that "it looks as if President Nixon has caught a Tartar in Mr. Chou En-lai."

"Barely have the echoes of the President's triumphant broadcast dissolved into space than the Chinese Prime Minister sets about making the slippery slope to the summit more slippery."

The paper said that Chou En-lai's statements on American withdrawal from Vietnam "left Washington in no doubt" that the Viet Cong's seven-point proposals "had China's 'total support.'"

## Karachi: "India's Obsession With Chinese Threat"

The independent *Dawn* of Karachi said criticism of President Nixon's proposed trip by Indian editor Frank Moraes "reflects and exaggerates Indian obsession with the imaginary Chinese threat."

Leftist *Javedan* urged Pakistanis not to regard adverse Indian reaction to the President's planned visit as an indication of a deterioration in Indo-U. S. relations because "the U. S. has worked tirelessly for years to advance its influence in India and will not allow all that to go in vain."

No. 99

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7/23/71

Istanbul: "Miracles Must Not Be Expected"

The foreign affairs editor of Istanbul's Liberal-Reformist Milliyet cautioned yesterday that "miracles must not be expected from President Nixon's Peking trip.... America has commitments and interests confronting China's in Asia. China also has ambitions for the expansion of its ideology all over the world."

"However, a new era will open.... China is a candidate for status as a superpower along with the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Sino-American rapprochement, which will be accelerated by Nixon's trip, will help Peking attain that status."

A commentator in the same paper, writing shortly after the President's announcement, judged that "we may be at a turning point in political and economic choices by the U.S. by which the U.S. aims to protect her interests against Western Europe, Japan and the Soviet Union."

"Another Sellout of Small Nations"

An editorial in rightist Adalet of Ankara saw in "President Nixon's attempt to reach understanding with Peking... another instance of the sellout of small nations by the great powers.... The U.S. will not leave Formosa to Red China, but we think that Formosa will be left in dark solitude as a result of this decision."

Cairo: "U.S. Finally Conceded"

Cairo media, preoccupied with Middle East issues, have commented only sparsely on the proposed visit to Peking.

Semi-official al-Ahram said in a front-page editorial on Tuesday that U.S. policy changed when, following the failure of a 20-year effort to isolate China, it finally realized that it must concede to Peking's "struggle, determination and steadfastness."

The paper's first comment on the President's announcement was that the President's step was favorably received around the world with the exception of "a few U.S. puppet regimes" in Asia. The paper doubted that a new relationship with China could be established "at no expense to friends" if the U.S. intended to maintain close relations with the "puppet regimes."

No. 99

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7/23/71

## Lusaka: "Africans Proved Right"

The government-owned Zambia Mail of Lusaka commented:

> "African countries...are glad to see that what they have been pressing for is nearing realization and that they have been proved right."

The independent Times of Zambia noted that the "historic breakthrough" had come from the leadership of a President with an "anti-Communist record." This, it said, showed "the idiocy of a world basing its policies on cliches such as capitalism, Communism, imperialism and so on...."

> "We are on the way to achieving a balance in which ideology is a minority shareholder."

## Nairobi: "Meet They Must"

The leading Daily Nation of Nairobi asserted that "we in Africa...have always believed that meet they must." It said Mr. Nixon "must be aware of the risks," but it argued, "He is simply being realistic."

The paper reported from Dar es Salaam that Tanzania's Minister of Information had welcomed the proposed visit as promoting world peace.

The influential East African Standard of Nairobi warned that "too much is being expected too soon by a world hungry for the hope of peace...."

> "The implications of the visit, however, extend, if not to an immediate detente, to the probability of a settlement in Indochina."

## Kampala: Letters to Washington and Peking

Uganda papers welcomed the move. Dispatches from Kampala said President Amin had written letters to President Nixon commending his "firm and bold stand," and to Premier Chou En-lai praising his "generous gesture."

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7/23/71

### Addis Ababa: "Invitation As Striking As Acceptance"

The government-owned *Ethiopian Herald* of Addis Ababa praised Mr. Nixon for making a "difficult decision," and saw a "multiple significance" in a meeting of the U.S. and Communist Chinese leaders. It said:

> "The fact that Peking should extend an invitation to an American President is as striking, or even more striking, than the acceptance of that invitation by a U.S. leader."

### Lagos: "Possibilities Are Immense"

The independent *Daily Times* of Lagos wrote of Mr. Nixon's "world-shattering" decision:

> "He is staking everything--his political career, his personal reputation and his country's pride--on a gamble. If he succeeds-- and it is a very big 'if'...the possibilities are immense."

The government-owned *Morning Post* of Lagos asserted on Wednesday that "the war in Indochina will be the fulcrum for the planned improved Sino-American relations.... Indeed, on it hinges the seriousness of America to open a gateway to the mainland."

### Accra: "Nothing But Praise"

The government-owned *Ghanian Times* of Accra declared it had "nothing but praise for the American President in breaking with the past. For, as we have been hammering home, the time has come for nations to accept the present world situation instead of being blinded by age-long prejudices and hatreds."

### Bamako: "Detente May Spread to Entire World"

The Mali Government's *L'Essor* of Bamako said in a rare front-page editorial that a meeting "should promote a detente which will extend to the entire world." It warned, "Not all problems will suddenly be swept away by this visit.... But already the world waits, with much curiosity, and above all with much hope."

No. 99

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7/23/71

## Freetown: "Nixon a Peacemaker"

Sierra Leone's Government-controlled *Daily Mail* of Freetown made this assessment:

> "With the winding down of American involvement in Vietnam and the new friendship between the U.S. and China, President Nixon can be considered a peacemaker."

## Dakar: "Assures Nixon Re-election"

Le Soleil of Dakar front-paged a Senegalese Government statement congratulating Mr. Nixon. The paper speculated that the implications of the visit included a U.N. seat for Peking, a "favorable effect" on a settlement in Vietnam, "heavy consequences" for U.S.-Soviet relations, and "assured re-election in 1972" for President Nixon.

## Yaounde: "An Agreeable Surprise"

The Cameroon Government press said the "amelioration of American-Chinese relations" was an "agreeable surprise... joyfully saluted... in all peace-loving countries."

Independent La Presse du Cameroun called it "a real thunderclap in the diplomatic sky." It speculated that the Vietnam negotiations in Paris would "by-pass the seven-point program of Madame Binh in order to set forth toward a much broader horizon."

## Pretoria: "A Gain for Mankind"

South Africa's independent Pretoria News said there were "750 million good reasons" for the planned visit.

The British-oriented Johannesburg Star hailed "not merely a triumph for U.S. diplomacy," but "a gain for mankind."

No. 99

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7/23/71

Hanoi, Viet Cong: Still No Mention

Hanoi and Viet Cong media continued to reflect deep concern over the implications of Mr. Nixon's planned visit to China, although they have not yet mentioned the simultaneous announcement of it by the President and Peking a week ago.

"U.S. Stepping Up Cunning Activities"

A Provisional Revolutionary Government Foreign Ministry statement broadcast by Liberation Radio yesterday followed the lines of a belated Hanoi Foreign Ministry statement on Wednesday marking the 17th anniversary of the Geneva Agreements. It argued:

--"The U.S. imperialists, despite their great military and economic potential, have repeatedly failed in their war plans."

--"The seven-point peace initiative of the PRG... has opened an honorable way out of Vietnam for the Nixon Administration."

--"The Nixon Administration has deliberately tried to avoid responding to this initiative..."

--"The Nixon Administration is also stepping up its cunning diplomatic activities with a view to forcing the South Vietnamese people to accept a solution advantageous to the U.S."

--"The South Vietnamese people are the masters of their own destiny. The problem concerns only the U.S. imperialist aggressors and the Vietnamese people who are fighting the aggression."

"How Can Nixon Divide Peoples?"

As reported by the Vietnamese News Agency (Hanoi), a daily Nhan Dan editorial yesterday asked, "How can Nixon divide the peoples of the socialist countries who share the common ideal of Communism and conduct the common struggle against imperialism?" It said further:

"Enjoying the sympathy, support and great assistance of the peoples of the other socialist countries... we will certainly completely defeat the U.S. imperialist aggressors, the number one enemy of the Vietnamese people and of the world's people as well." (Cf. Peking's People's Daily editorial on Tuesday, WTCI No. 98, July 21, 1971.)

No. 99

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7/23/71

Peking: No Further Allusion

Since carrying the brief announcement of the visit a week ago, Peking media have not commented upon it or even alluded to it.

Moscow: Anti-Soviet "Collusion"

Moscow asserted its thesis that the move represents Sino-U.S. "collusion" and is essentially anti-Soviet in character. Thus TASS international service in English on Wednesday cited the Washington *Daily News* as characterizing "this decision as the culminating point of the efforts of Mao and Chou En-lai over 26 years to arrange a meeting with the American President."

Also on Wednesday, a TASS dispatch datelined Delhi reported: "The Foreign Minister of India, Swaran Singh, speaking in the People's Chamber of Parliament, said that if the American-Chinese rapprochement means an attempt on the part of these powers to dominate Southeast Asia, we cannot rest in peace."

Both of these wire service items appeared in *Pravda* and were further disseminated by Moscow radio in its Mandarin service for Chinese listeners.

"Pentagon Papers Emphasized Peking Actions"

TASS even managed to include the "anti-Soviet" theme in a Moscow dispatch yesterday reporting publication in the USSR of "great numbers" of a book entitled, "Escalation of the War and Deception," said to have been compiled by Soviet journalists from the "Pentagon papers." The TASS commentator wrote:

"There are a number of references in the Pentagon documents which show that the Johnson Administration, in planning escalation of the Vietnam war, watched closely the attitudes of other countries, above all that of the Soviet Union. Special attention was given to studying the splittist actions of the Peking leadership, which undermined the single front of the struggle of the socialist countries in the area."

Bucharest: "An Important Contribution"

A long editorial in the Rumanian Party organ, *Scinteia*, on Wednesday set that country apart from its Warsaw Pact partners by hailing the projected visit as "an important contribution" not only to Chinese-American relations but to international detente. It applauded abandonment by the U.S. of "the unrealistic policy promoted for more than 20 years in relation to China."

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...Western Europe, p. 2 ...Asia, p. 7 ...Communist Countries, p. 10

PEKING TRIP: SOVIET REACTION, POSSIBLE EFFECTS

Summary

Foreign media interest in Sino-U.S. relations over the weekend and today centered on Soviet reaction to President Nixon's plans to go to Peking, and speculation on effects of the trip.

The London Sunday Times said the indications were that the Soviet "desire to seek a detente with the West has not been affected" and that "the Nixon attempt to open the door to China may make agreements even more desirable to the Kremlin."

Media in many countries called attention to yesterday's Pravda article as Moscow's first official reaction to Mr. Nixon's acceptance of the Communist Chinese invitation.

Australia's Canberra Times said Pravda's tone was "conciliatory but cool."

These were among predictions about a Peking visit:

--"Mr. Nixon is expected to concede Peking's sovereignty in Formosa," with the latter becoming "an autonomous province of China" (London Sunday Telegraph).

--"The circumstances behind the visit are still unclear," so that there is "an air of uneasiness among the countries neighboring on China" (Tokyo TV).

--"Much hard bargaining will follow the extravaganza of Mr. Nixon's arrival in Peking"! (The Statesman of Calcutta and New Delhi).

--Seoul media played a Foreign Ministry spokesman's statement that "the Korean question cannot be a subject of bargaining in the course of Sino-American rapprochement."

--Manila media headlined President Marcos' proposal for an "Asian summit" meeting to discuss "the pervasive and overwhelming effects of President Nixon's scheduled visit to Red China."

Moscow Pravda's long and authoritative editorial yesterday ended ten days of hesitant, indirect and low-key comment on the trip announcement. Peking media continued to attack "U.S. imperialism" and the Administration, refraining from attacking President Nixon personally; they gave no further attention to the planned visit. Hanoi and Viet Cong media remained silent on the trip.

* * *

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London: "Soviet Desire for Detente Not Affected"

Henry Brandon, writing from Washington, suggested in yesterday's London Sunday Times that Mr. Nixon may visit Moscow after he has been to mainland China.
He wrote:

"There is ample evidence here that President Nixon's bold policy on China has come as a shock to the Kremlin, but also that it is not going to adversely affect Soviet-American negotiations on some of the big issues now under discussion.

"The Soviets were upset by Mr. Nixon's visit to Rumania and still harp on it as an unfriendly act and, no doubt, the projected visit to Peking has aroused far deeper suspicions. China, after all, is the Soviet Union's arch enemy both ideologically and geopolitically.

"Yet the indications are, the attacks in several Soviet journals notwithstanding, that there exists a certain stability in Soviet policy goals, that the desire to seek a detente with the West has not been affected and that the Nixon attempt to open the door to China may make agreements even more desirable to the Kremlin.

"Soviet sources have indicated, for instance, that the strategic arms limitation talks are considered too important to be influenced by the visit to Peking, the outcome of which is still difficult to assess, even for Mr. Nixon.

"The negotiations still face many obstacles. If an agreement is reached by the end of the year the President might go to Russia for the signing of the agreement, but in no case would this be before his visit to China..."

Brandon asserted that "with his new China policy, the President has embarked on a diplomatic adventure which is one of the many links in his concept of how to stabilize world peace.

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"The Nixon Doctrine of restraint and gradual withdrawal from too advanced positions, and of shifting some of the responsibilities for security to local national forces, looks to me now as an intrinsic corollary to his more fundamental concept that peace can be built only on the mutual respect of each other's basic long-term interests."

## Formosa an "Autonomous Province"?

A story from Washington in the conservative Sunday Telegraph said that "Mr. Nixon is not prepared to abandon the commitment to defend Formosa against Communist occupation.

"Mr. Nixon is expected to concede Peking's sovereignty in Formosa. He will, however, claim that as an autonomous province of China the Formosan Government has the right to maintain its defense treaty with the U.S."

In another article, the paper quoted defector Anatoli Fedoseyev as saying, "Fear of China is widespread in the Soviet Union, among the rulers as among the ordinary people...."

"I was not in the least surprised by the announcement of President Nixon's intention to visit China. It seems to me to be a very natural move for the Americans and the Chinese, but I fear this new friendship may serve only to bring war with Russia nearer."

The Sunday Observer of London carried an article from Peking by Jean Lacouture, a French journalist who was in the Communist Chinese capital when Dr. Kissinger met Chou En-lai. The article said that the tone of the Kissinger-Chou conversations "seems to have been fairly tough," and continued:

"President Nixon will have been warned by his envoy that he must not expect a triumphal reception in Peking. His journey will be regarded as an important stage in America's retreat from her military positions in Formosa, which Peking regards as Chinese territory, and from Indochina borders. Unless it is seen in these terms, the journey will be a fraud and a costly political failure."

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"One China But Not Now"

The independent *Times* of London declared on Saturday, "In the long run, the only solution for Taiwan and the Chinese mainland must be the same as those that will apply to the two halves of Vietnam and the two halves of Korea--a settlement arrived at by themselves. Such settlements reached by peaceful discussion have always been acceptable to American opinion..."

The paper said that "by now a 'two China's' policy has probably been abandoned in Washington... Even the 'one China, one Taiwan' policy would probably come up against the united opposition of the aged rulers on the island and the mainland.

"This leaves various policies being canvassed in Washington which are described by the label 'one China but not now.' Certainly time is of the essence. There are so many different possibilities which need time before they can be found acceptable.

"Given the goodwill that Mr. Nixon has been prepared to show for China the patience should at the same time be forthcoming from Peking. A China plainly anxious to get her rights by being seated in the U.N. is certainly not a China that can be rejected on the grounds of its disruptive intentions. The same flexibility in discussion of Taiwan may now also be hoped for."

Paris: "Tito to Peking First?"

The French press and radio noted Moscow *Pravda's* first reaction to "Washington-Peking rapprochement."

Moderately conservative *Figaro* of Paris cited "observers in Vienna" as speculating that Tito of Yugoslavia would go to Peking before President Nixon does. It commented:

"As a matter of fact, it would be logical for the Yugoslav Chief of State to precede Mr. Nixon to Peking in a period of Belgrade-Tirana thaw and Chou En-lai's offensive in all directions....

"Moscow's anxiety in the face of the spate of diplomatic activity deployed by People's China is obvious. On Saturday the Soviet Ambassador to Yugoslavia reportedly delivered to Marshal Tito a personal message from Mr. Brezhnev....

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