Untitled draft report for l’Humanité

[Handwritten] Draft [illegible: name of the author ?] for l’Huma.^[1] 12/2/83 [end handwritten]

[Handwritten open square bracket]

There is a real spark between the Chinese communists and the French communists. We belong to the same family, Xi Zhongxun said, we all bear the name of communists [sentence manually underlined and enclosed in quotation marks]. That spark does not mean Chinese and French communists do not have points of disagreement. They do and they say so. They also have points of agreement. And they also says so.

[Illegible handwritten annotation in the document margin]

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[Handwritten annotation in the document margin: further discuss political conversations]

The delegation of the Chinese Communist Party, at the invitation of the French Communist Party, stayed in France from November 23 to December. It was responding to a trip by Georges Marchais to China in October of last year. Before meeting [crossed out words] [handwritten] the PCF’s Secretary-General [end handwritten] Friday of last week the Chinese Communist Party’s Secretary declared “the points of disagreement between the Chinese Communist Party and the French Communist Party regarding [crossed out words] Afghanistan, Vietnam and Cambodia do not harm in any way the friendship between our two parties” [quotation manually underlined]. The political interviews as much with the PCF’s leadership as with activists and leaders of the Paris, the Essonne, the Hauts-de-Seine and the Gironde federations took place in a warm atmosphere. Both sides were visibly trying to get to know and to get to understand each other better. Get to know better China’s domestic policy for the French delegation, get to know better France’s domestic policy for the Chinese delegation. Finally, get to understand both parties analyses. “The conversations we have had with the PCF’s comrades, Xi Zhongxun notably said, have strengthened mutual understanding” [quotation manually underlined].

[Handwritten Asterix 1 – See end of the document]

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Chinese and French communists have agreed on a [handwritten open quotation mark] cooperation plan [handwritten closed quotation mark] between the two parties for 1984. It reaffirms the necessity to develop friendship and solidarity between the parties and between the people. It strengthens and broadens the first plan which was signed last year in Beijing during Georges Marchais’ visit.

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The Secretary-General of the PCF received for a long time the entire Chinese delegation on December 2, Friday. He provided an overview of the main current issues with Xi Zhongxun who gave him a letter from Hu Yabong^[2] [Typo original to the document], Secretary-General of the Chinese CP. The PCF leaders, in agreement in that matter with the Chinese leaders, have repeated that one had first to understand each other’s points of view, even though they might sometimes differ.

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[Handwritten] The PCF and the CCP [end handwritten] agree on the major themes of peace, disarmament. [Handwritten open quotation mark] Current conflicts must be resolved through political means [handwritten closed quotation mark] the PCF and CCP’s leaders said.

[Handwritten Asterix 2 in the document margin – See end of the document]

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They also agree on the [the type of] relations that must be built between communist parties. All parties must be treated equally. Moreover Chinese and French communists agree to say that there is no model for the construction of Socialism. It is built in an original way in each country.

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The [handwritten] Chinese [end handwritten] delegation had the opportunity, thanks to its various visits and meetings in France, to get to know our country’s diversity and its regions. It spent a day in a farm in Gironde and also had the opportunity to taste French wines. In the Bordeaux region it also had the opportunity to experience “today’s reality of the French working class” [quotation manually underlined] with the changes it is being subjected to.

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In Essone the Chinese Communist visited a CEA^[3] laboratory [handwritten] in Saclay [end handwritten] and they were notably received by the Sainte Geneviève des Bois^[4] City Council. Everywhere they went they met with the Party’s federal leaders. Xi Zhongxun also spoke on many occasions with the national and the regional press.

(I) The CCP delegation included Xi Zhongxun, member of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Central Committee, Qiao Shi[,] Deputy Secretary of the Central Committee, Li Shu Zong, Deputy member of the Central Committee, Wang Linjin, [crossed out words] collaborators of the Central Committee.

[Handwritten]

Maxime Gremetz: BP, [illegible word] CC,

Pierrette Joachim: C.C.

Jean Garcia: C.C.

Max Zins, Alain Roux, collaborators C.C.

Asterix 2: When asked about it by journalists, Xi Zhongxun said “China remains opposed to the arms race (…) as for the peace movement it reflects the willingness of popular masses in favour of the protection of world peace; as far as it is concerned China advocates in favour of global disarmament”.

Asterix 1: For the French communists this visit is historical. From 1949, the date of the Revolution’s victory to 1964 the People’s Republic of China was not recognised by the French government. The communists fought for recognition. [Crossed out sentence]. The visit of a significant delegation of Chinese communists in France, at the invitation of the PCF is therefore an emotional moment for the French communists

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^[1] Translator's note: Short for l’Humanité (the name of the newspaper).

^[2] Translator’s note: For reference purposes, Hu Yaobang is the correct spelling.

^[3] Translator's note: Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (or Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives)  

^[4] Translator's note: Small city of the Essone Department.