January 16, 1951
Ciphered telegram from Mao Zedong to Filippov (Stalin)
SECOND MAIN ADMINISTRATION OF THE GENERAL STAFF OF THE SOVIET ARMY
CIPHERED TELEGRAM No. 15607
Copies: Stalin (2), Molotov, Vasilevsky,
Men'shikov
From BEIJING Received 14 hours 30 minutes
16.1.1951
EXTREMELY URGENT T
To Comrade FILIPPOV [Stalin]
1. I received your telegram of 4.1.51. I fully agree with all the arrangements contained in your telegram. I thank you and the Soviet Government for the assistance you are rendering to us.
2. We have studied the draft agreement on military credit.
We fully agree with the draft of this agreement, with the exception of the 1st and 2nd points of the third article, to which were introduced changes on the basis of your telegram of 4.1 of this year, about which we requested Comrade Zakharov to inform you.
With regard to the signing of this agreement, Comrade Zhou Enlai will resolve this question together with Comrade Zakharov.
3. You communicated in your telegram that in the first nine and a half months of 1950 the USSR has agreed, in accordance with the agreement on credit of 14.2.1950, to deliver to China military goods in the amount of 140 million rubles.
Not long ago Comrade Wang Jia-xiang brought the requests of February and May for military goods that he received from the military-engineering administration of MVT to the general sum of 237,548,103.64 rubles, of which the request for February is 114,415,274.67 rubles and for May 123,132,828.97 rubles.
Thus, the total value of the military goods delivered, contained in our telegram, is 97,500,000 rubles less than the value of the military goods in the February and May requests.
Should it be considered that the military goods ordered in the requests have been sent only in part? Will this difference be covered in 1951? I ask you to communicate about this.
4. That you have established the amounts of military credit for 1951 is very good. As soon as we sort out the first two requests we will make an application for military goods for 1951, with a careful calculation of the cost of this military hardware, so that the total sum will not exceed the amount of 400,000,000 rubles established by you, so that the Soviet government will not be burdened by the fulfillment of our military applications.
5. I thank you for your decision about the delivery of railway equipment as a part of the military credit in accordance with the agreement on military credit, with a reduction of 25% of the cost of this equipment.
6. We agree that 5,000 automobiles delivered to us in 1950 and 12,000 automobiles which will be delivered in 1951 should be paid through trade exchange. I hope that you will review my request and communicate an answer about the delivery ahead of time of the remaining 12,000 automobiles for satisfying the needs of the front.
7. I ask you to communicate to us whether gasoline and aviation fuel, for military purposes, included in the application for military equipment sent after 19.10.1950, will be included in the military equipment stipulated by the agreement on military credit. Is the agreement on military equipment applicable to the aforementioned gasoline?
With bolshevik greetings!
MAO ZEDONG
No. 262
14.1.51
CIPHERED TELEGRAM No. 15607
Copies: Stalin (2), Molotov, Vasilevsky,
Men'shikov
From BEIJING Received 14 hours 30 minutes
16.1.1951
EXTREMELY URGENT T
To Comrade FILIPPOV [Stalin]
1. I received your telegram of 4.1.51. I fully agree with all the arrangements contained in your telegram. I thank you and the Soviet Government for the assistance you are rendering to us.
2. We have studied the draft agreement on military credit.
We fully agree with the draft of this agreement, with the exception of the 1st and 2nd points of the third article, to which were introduced changes on the basis of your telegram of 4.1 of this year, about which we requested Comrade Zakharov to inform you.
With regard to the signing of this agreement, Comrade Zhou Enlai will resolve this question together with Comrade Zakharov.
3. You communicated in your telegram that in the first nine and a half months of 1950 the USSR has agreed, in accordance with the agreement on credit of 14.2.1950, to deliver to China military goods in the amount of 140 million rubles.
Not long ago Comrade Wang Jia-xiang brought the requests of February and May for military goods that he received from the military-engineering administration of MVT to the general sum of 237,548,103.64 rubles, of which the request for February is 114,415,274.67 rubles and for May 123,132,828.97 rubles.
Thus, the total value of the military goods delivered, contained in our telegram, is 97,500,000 rubles less than the value of the military goods in the February and May requests.
Should it be considered that the military goods ordered in the requests have been sent only in part? Will this difference be covered in 1951? I ask you to communicate about this.
4. That you have established the amounts of military credit for 1951 is very good. As soon as we sort out the first two requests we will make an application for military goods for 1951, with a careful calculation of the cost of this military hardware, so that the total sum will not exceed the amount of 400,000,000 rubles established by you, so that the Soviet government will not be burdened by the fulfillment of our military applications.
5. I thank you for your decision about the delivery of railway equipment as a part of the military credit in accordance with the agreement on military credit, with a reduction of 25% of the cost of this equipment.
6. We agree that 5,000 automobiles delivered to us in 1950 and 12,000 automobiles which will be delivered in 1951 should be paid through trade exchange. I hope that you will review my request and communicate an answer about the delivery ahead of time of the remaining 12,000 automobiles for satisfying the needs of the front.
7. I ask you to communicate to us whether gasoline and aviation fuel, for military purposes, included in the application for military equipment sent after 19.10.1950, will be included in the military equipment stipulated by the agreement on military credit. Is the agreement on military equipment applicable to the aforementioned gasoline?
With bolshevik greetings!
MAO ZEDONG
No. 262
14.1.51
A message from Mao to Stalin on the topic of military credit and its particulars.
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