Report from the First Asia Department Third Section

Rush and Secret

Report from the First Asia Department Third Section

29 January 1955

Indonesian Ambassador to China [Arnold] Mononutu, [text illegible] the 27th will personally deliver the invitation for our country to attend the Afro-Asian conference and the attached memo to vice [foreign] minister Zhang Hanfu; please forward to Premier Zhou [Enlai].

Regarding the issue of replying to the invitation, the proposed opinion is:In order to reply to the invitation, we should first have the parliament discuss and decide to approve the invitation, then provide the formal reply in writing (draft copy attached).

(1) The invitation explained that they hope to receive our government’s reply around mid-February. Our consideration is that if we reply too early, then it will make us seem too eager; if we reply too late it is also not appropriate. [Hence] the appropriate time for replying seems to be around February 10.

(2) After the State Council approved the reply, [we] suggest to have vice minister Zhang [Hanfu] personally deliver the reply to [Arnold] Mononutu. At the same time we should seek their approval on our releasing of the invitation (including the memo) to the newspapers. The method of release may take the following form:

1. After we send our reply, we could simultaneously release the invitation (including the memo) and the full text of our reply, or

2. Only release the main points of the invitation, the full text of our reply and the memo will not be released.

We are inclined towards the first method. We suggest that when we release the documents, it is better to place them in a more conspicuous location on the front page, and we can also issue an editorial as well.

Regards,

Chen, Han, Fu department head is prepared to approve

[Signature illegible]

Ni Yongye

19 January [1955]