On January 27, 1964, a breaking news came from the history of world diplomacy: "The People's Republic of China and the French Republic have unanimously decided to formally establish diplomatic relations, and the two countries will exchange ambassadors within three months." "This brief communiqué, under the Cold War pattern of the world at that time, was tantamount to a nuclear bomb explosion. But Bernard de Gaulle, nephew of Charles de Gaulle, then President of the French Fifth Republic, was not surprised by this, for his uncle had expressed his friendship and yearning for the new China several years earlier, and wrote in his family letter in 1959:
Pictured: In the "Memory of the Nation" program, China and France formally establish diplomatic relations
"You should understand China, which is a completely different world and has a completely different political system from the Western countries..."
In China's modern history, France, as one of the imperialist powers, once used Vietnam as a springboard to infiltrate China, and directly participat Chinese ed in the Second Opium War and the Eight-Power Alliance's war of aggression against China. But as the saying goes, "thirty years of Hedong, thirty years of Hexi", the outbreak of the two world wars made France collapse, especially in the Second World War, the French capital Paris was attacked by Nazi Germany, the surrender rate was extremely fast, resulting in the face of the former imperialist power country shattered to the ground.
Pictured: De Gaulle broadcasts on the BBC
The collapse of France's status gave de Gaulle a great mental stimulus. Since his youth, de Gaulle has always admired the patriotic spirit of Joan of Arc and the majesty of the Napoleonic Empire, but since the birth of de Gaulle, he has never seen such a scenery, and he can often only appreciate the glory of the French Empire from the "beautiful dusk view of Versailles", "the quiet night view of Notre Dame de Paris", or "the enemy flag flying over the old military compound of Paris"! In the two world wars, Britain, Germany and the United States and other countries have risen one after another, while France can only be born under the aura of other imperialist countries, and can no longer be as unique as its ancestors hundreds of years ago. To this end, de Gaulle was determined to revive the glory of the French Republic and to fight for this goal all his life.
Pictured: On August 25, 1944, after the liberation of Paris, General de Gaulle proudly took to the streets
Like The embarrassing situation that Churchill encountered, de Gaulle clashed with the Constituent Assembly in the post-war construction of France, which led to his resignation as interim Prime Minister in 1946 and his departure from politics for more than 10 years. However, because of his outstanding contributions in the Second World War, he was still loved by many French people, so he lived in seclusion in a church in Colombe, France, but secretly ready to "make a comeback".
Pictured: On July 14, 1940, General de Gaulle inspected the first soldiers of the "Free France"
In the late 1950s, the French Fourth Republic was unable to deal with algeria, which gave de Gaulle hope of returning to politics, and although he was still in seclusion, he had begun to secretly contact key members of French politics to determine the policies of the future French Republic.
After de Gaulle became president of the French Fifth Republic in 1959, he immediately began to implement the "de Gaulle Doctrine" against the United States, first withdrawing the command of the French fleet from NATO, prohibiting the use of French naval bases by US troops, and beginning to prepare for a planned departure from NATO. After the orderly implementation of France's plan to break away from NATO, de Gaulle focused mainly on foreign affairs, the most important of which was the establishment of diplomatic relations with new China.
Pictured: Former French Prime Minister Edgar Foure
De Gaulle deliberated on the issue of selecting the person to be the administrator of the new China's foreign affairs, and finally decided to appoint former French Prime Minister Edgar Fuerre. The legendary figure in French history not only served as French prime minister twice, but also secretly came to China in 1957 for an expedition. In the spring of 1958, de Gaulle, who was idle at home, stumbled upon a book called "The Snake and the Tortoise," by whom Fowl, in which he had the foresight to argue that France should formally establish diplomatic relations with China: "France has no reason to continue to pursue the 'two Chinas' policy, and unless we completely sever relations with Taiwan, we unilaterally recognize that the People's Republic of China is not only a useless attitude, but also a very unfriendly act." ”
It was because of Fowler's views that de Gaulle intended to take further action in 1963 to restore normal diplomatic relations between China and France, and Fowl naturally became de Gaulle's envoy, going to China as a French representative to negotiate.
Pictured: U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, French Prime Minister Edgar Fuell, British Prime Minister Anthony Aiden and others
The establishment of diplomatic relations with New China was an action of great significance in the promotion of "de Gaulle Doctrine" by the French government led by de Gaulle after its study. Although from the perspective of the overall situation, de Gaulle's global strategic approach to the future of France is naturally to safeguard the interests of Western Europe and France, but precisely because of this goal, he must carefully weigh his interests and use it to counter the shackles of the superpower, the United States.
In order to be able to formally establish diplomatic relations with New China, de Gaulle once proposed three plans for establishing diplomatic relations with China, namely: "unconditional recognition plan", "conditional recognition plan" and "recent recognition plan". According to de Gaulle's vision at the time, it would be better if the first plan could be realized immediately, because it would avoid a formal and public statement of severance of diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and would leave room for maneuver on the Anglo-American side and even taiwan.
Pictured: Roosevelt, Churchill and de Gaulle
In August 1963, de Gaulle and his wife invited Fuer to lunch, and during the banquet, de Gaulle entrusted Fuer as his representative to go to China once again to discuss the important task of establishing formal diplomatic relations between China and France, and Fule gladly agreed. In order to avoid the attention of the media at the time, Fuer conveyed his opinion that he wanted to visit China through the Chinese Embassy in Sweden, and declared in public that the visit was purely "private". In this regard, Premier Zhou Enlai is very aware of the important mission of Fuer's current visit to China. After consulting with Chairman Mao, Zhou Enlai immediately instructed the relevant departments to invite Fuer to China for a private visit in the name of Zhang Xiruo, president of the China Foreign Affairs Association.
On the afternoon of October 22, 1963, at Beijing Capital International Airport, Mr. and Mrs. Fuer slowly stepped out of a large military airliner on time. In order to show the importance that the Chinese side attaches to Fuer's visit, the Chinese side specially sent Guo Moruo, then vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Bao Erhan, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and other comrades to greet them at Chinese mainland the airport.
Pictured: Fuer is talking to Premier Zhou
On the morning of October 23, Premier Zhou Enlai met with Fuer at the West Flower Hall in Zhongnanhai and held the first talks between China and France. In this regard, Fuer first told Premier Zhou Enlai: "The French head of state, General Charles de Gaulle, hopes to have formal talks with the Chinese leadership. He believes that it is very abnormal for two world powers like us to still not be able to hold formal talks, so General de Gaulle sent me to China to negotiate with the Chinese government on his behalf. He did this in no way to hide his feelings for Chinese, but if the news were made public, then there would be no way for our two countries to sit quietly and discuss issues. However, the visit was still official, and General de Gaulle once gave me a handwritten letter in which he expressed his attitude, and you can stay and see it and return it to me in two days. ”
Premier Zhou Enlai took the letter and looked at it, then returned it to Fuer, responding politely: "It can be seen from General de Gaulle's letter that the French side is very careful about how to increase the relations between the two countries, and it is very coincidental that we have always had this desire." Over the years, General de Gaulle has come to power and done some excellent work, especially in the field of safeguarding national sovereignty, and although this will make some big countries unhappy, we feel that a country should have independent diplomacy, and the affairs of a country can only be solved by the country itself. ”
Photo: Premier Zhou Enlai (Data Map)
Two days later, on October 25, Premier Zhou Enlai and Fuer held a second meeting at Building 15 of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, in which Fuer put on the negotiating table the three options previously envisaged by President de Gaulle. In this regard, Premier Zhou Enlai replied confidently: "The Chinese government has seriously considered these three options. Based on the completely equal status of China and France and the good wishes of both sides to actively improve Sino-French relations, our Chinese Government has also put forward a new plan, that is, a brand new plan for the active and step-by-step establishment of diplomatic relations. There are three main steps in this plan for establishing diplomatic relations proposed by Premier Zhou:
First, the French Government submitted an official note to the new Chinese Government recognizing the Government of the People's Republic of China and proposing the immediate establishment of diplomatic relations and the exchange of ambassadors. Second, the new Chinese government replied that the People's Republic of China, as the sole legitimate government representing the Chinese people, welcomes the french government and is willing to establish diplomatic relations at once. Third, the two sides simultaneously issued the above note verbale and exchanged ambassadors.
Photo: Premier Zhou Enlai at work
In this way, the French side can replace it with a note verbal statement and the acquiescence of the French side, and at the same time leave some room for the other side in the question of who comes first and who will follow in the severance of diplomatic relations and the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Of course, Premier Zhou Enlai also knew that it was difficult for New China to make concessions on the issue of principle, but on the specific practice of how to maintain principles, he could consider taking a step back and then see how Fuer's attitude was.
There is no doubt that Premier Zhou Enlai's attitude on the adaptation of specific methods intrigued Fuer, who replied after a little thought: "After research, the French side has decided to change conditional recognition into conditional recognition. General de Gaulle is well aware that your interpretation is in accordance with international law, because sovereignty is indivisible and france cannot recognize the existence of 'two Chinas' if it recognizes the People's Republic of China. I can report this news to General de Gaulle, and this Chinese interpretation is a popular expression of international law. Apparently, Fowler has also taken a step back in the negotiations.
Pictured: Zhou Enlai meets with representative of President de Gaulle and former French Prime Minister Foul (center) from October to November 1963
Zhou Enlai was very pleased to see that the French side's attitude was so positive, and it was obvious that the sincerity of the French side was worth taking a step back from New China. Therefore, in the subsequent talks, Premier Zhou Enlai put forward a new plan, that is, the "plan for directly establishing diplomatic relations." On the morning of November 2, Zhou Enlai and Fuer conducted a final study and discussion of this plan at the Peace Hotel in Beijing.
During the final negotiations, Fuer frankly said to Zhou Enlai: "Is it permissible for the French side to establish diplomatic relations with New China first, and then to sever diplomatic relations with the Taiwan side?" ”
Zhou Enlai decided to make procedural concessions on this issue: "Considering that Mr. Fuer has made many requests on this issue, and considering that General de Gaulle does not support the 'two Chinas' commitment, and some complicated situations in The Relationship between France and Taiwan, we allow France to establish diplomatic relations with our country first, and then naturally end relations with Taiwan through the international objective situation thus formed, but the French side needs to state this position in writing." ”
Pictured: Old photo of French President Charles de Gaulle
Fuer expressed his affirmation of this proposal, but was embarrassed by the fact that the French side would eventually need to state its position in writing, and hoped that the Chinese Government would understand and take into account the objective situation on the French side. Thus, Zhou Enlai proposed a flexible solution: under the premise that the French side did not support the "two Chinas", China unilaterally issued a statement on the issue, and France supported and affirmed it with acquiescence.
Even Fuer felt that there was nothing wrong with Premier Zhou Enlai's impeccable sino-French plan for establishing diplomatic relations, and he immediately told Premier Zhou: "Before coming to China, I was not authorized by de Gaulle to sign a formal agreement, so I will immediately return to General de Gaulle with this plan." ”
The Western powers headed by the United States and the Taiwan authorities were naturally very vigilant about Fuer's visit to China, so they stepped up their activities during this period in an attempt to obstruct the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between New China and France. On December 24, 1963, Chiang Kai-shek wrote a letter to de Gaulle asking for clarification of relations between the French government and the new Chinese government. But less than a month later, de Gaulle replied in his letter:
Pictured: De Gaulle gives a speech
"What I want to tell you is that the French government is indeed going to formally conclude diplomatic relations with the Beijing government in the near future, and France cannot ignore for a long time a fait accompli that already exists."
Obviously, de Gaulle did not intend to listen to Chiang Kai-shek's persuasion, but he also had to be a little more thoughtful in terms of etiquette, and he sent General Pechekov, who had previously served as an "ambassador" on the Kuomintang side, to Taipei with this handwritten letter to resume his life.
The United States has reacted strongly and has constantly put pressure on the French government. On January 7, 1964, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with U.S. Ambassador to France Pollen and informed him that France had decided to formally establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. On January 16, US Deputy Secretary of State Harriman submitted a very strongly worded opposition note to the French ambassador, saying that France's move violated "the interests of the Western free world" and expressed "deep regret and disappointment" at the French side's move, but these statements could not stop the general trend of establishing diplomatic relations between China and France.
Photo: De Gaulle color photo (film and television drama data map)
After Fuhr returned to China, the French government continued to send diplomats to engage in close contact with the Chinese side, and after several rounds of consultations, on January 27, 1964, the communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France was officially released, and it was stated that the two sides would exchange ambassadors in early March, and a new chapter in Sino-French relations was opened. In the more than fifty years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China and France have jointly created many precedents in major-country relations: the first country to formally establish diplomatic relations with New China was France; the first country to carry out the peaceful use of nuclear energy with China was also France; the first cultural center established by China in the West was finally located in Paris, and China and France also first held each other's cultural years.
In view of de Gaulle's great efforts and contributions to the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, this well-known French leader naturally gradually entered Chairman Mao's vision. For de Gaulle, a well-known figure in World War II, the erudite Chairman Mao naturally knew, not only had he read "De Gaulle's Memoirs", but Chairman Mao also had his own unique ability to understand. Chairman Mao's extensive reading of the biographies of famous people in ancient and modern China and abroad will be carefully analyzed, and Chairman Mao advocates looking at the people or things in the book dialectically in light of the actual situation in China today, and he will always evaluate their position and role in history in two parts, and de Gaulle is naturally no exception.
At that time, Chairman Mao's view of de Gaulle was completely different from that of the international commentary at that time. He and Premier Zhou agreed that de Gaulle had a strong national spirit and national consciousness, had his own distinct personality, dared to shake off the interference of US imperialism, and would never yield in the face of power. According to this, Chairman Mao believed that after de Gaulle became president of France, he would play a great role in freeing Europe from the control of the United States and maintaining national independence, and later history also proved this inference.
Pictured: In the film and television drama "Diplomatic Storm", Mao Zedong asked Han Suyin to relay to de Gaulle that he was welcome to come to China at any time
As for this "old friend," Chairman Mao once commissioned the writer Han Suying to bring a message to de Gaulle: "I hope you can invite my old friend De Gaulle to visit China, come whenever you want, and go wherever you want." Admittedly, this is also the wish of General de Gaulle, who one day will personally set foot on this part of China. On September 9, 1970, de Gaulle, who was idle at home, said to his niece Mary Colby, who was about to go to China: "Naturally, I need to be invited by the Chinese government and Chairman Mao... If I can one day go there, the first thing I will do is to talk to Chairman Mao personally. ”
Pictured: In November 1970, de Gaulle's funeral ceremony was held after his death
De Gaulle originally planned to officially visit China in 1971, but regrettably, on November 9, 1970, de Gaulle died suddenly in his hometown at the age of 80. According to his driver's recollection, de Gaulle's death was very sudden: at about 7:30 p.m. that night, the old man, who had entered his old age, was playing card games in his study for recreation, watching the daily evening news, but suddenly there was a loud noise in his room. When people rushed into his room, they found that the general had suddenly fallen to the ground, and there were countless cards scattered on the ground... After investigation, de Gaulle was unfortunate because of the sudden rupture of a heart aneurysm.
Upon learning of de Gaulle's death, Chairman Mao immediately sent a bitter telegram of condolences to de Gaulle's wife: "Sincere condolences and respects to this indomitable fighter who opposed fascist aggression and defended the independence of the French nation." On this day, beijing's Tiananmen Square, Xinhuamen Gate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs all three places lowered their flags to half-mast to mourn, which is the first time that New China has such a high standard of etiquette for the death of a foreign head of state.