265. Telegram From the Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Bohlen) to the Department of State1
2175. … Ambassador, who recently returned from visit to China, and who saw Chou En-lai, told me nothing of any importance occurred during his call which he said was of purely protocol nature. Chou raised no specific point of international affairs, made no mention of Formosa or US but dealt solely in platitudes expressing admiration of progress and position in … with certain observations concerning China and difficulties in attempts to modernize China’s economy.
Of somewhat greater interest was conversation he had with Yudin, Soviet Ambassador in Peiping, during which latter stated that while Soviets had given Chinese scientific and technical know-how in atomic field which would eventually enable them, if they so desired, to produce nuclear weapons, they had not given Chinese either bomb itself or facilities for its manufacture.
[Page 588]Yudin also remarked to … that in his opinion in another one to five years China would be so strong that no other country would be able to tell her what to do, which is remark of some interest coming from Soviet Ambassador.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 793.00/6–655. Confidential.↩