Source: Voice of China, China Central Radio and Television Corporation
△ Premier Zhou Enlai at the Bandung Conference
A hundred years of the Communist Party of China
On April 18, 1955, the Asian-African Conference, which was attended by 29 countries, opened in the Indonesian mountain city of Bandung. Premier and Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai led the Chinese delegation to attend the Bandung Conference, put forward and adhered to the principle of "seeking common ground while reserving differences," and made important contributions to the success of the conference.
Documentary: On this day, the enthusiastic and joyful Indonesian people who care about the Asian-African Conference crowd the streets and squares of Bandung. On this day, peace-loving people all over the world are watching Bandung with excitement...
Premier Zhou Enlai just got off the plane
The Bandung Conference was the first ever international conference held by an Asian and African country without the participation of colonial powers. Before going to Indonesia to attend the Bandung Conference, the Chinese delegation formulated a general strategic policy: uphold principles in compromise and achieve goals in reconciliation.
Zhang Yan, then a member of the Chinese delegation: At that time, our delegation, the Chinese delegation, and now look back, are all very prominent figures, so it can be seen how much we attach importance to this meeting. But I also know that this meeting is a very complicated struggle.
△ Premier Zhou is signing foreign leaders and journalists
At that time, only 6 of the other 28 countries participating in the Bandung Conference established diplomatic relations with New China. As a newly established socialist country, China's every move before and after the conference has attracted the attention of the international community. After escaping the assassination of the Kashmir Princess, Premier Zhou Enlai still braved the hardships and risks to attend the meeting on time.
Luo Zhen, son of Luo Qingchang, then director of the Prime Minister's Office: At that time, Vice Premier Chen Yi said that we are all guards of Premier Zhou, and I am the guards of Premier Zhou. Therefore, Comrade Huang Zhen, the ambassador to Indonesia at the time, and his wife Zhu Lin, were all involved in this defense work.
Zhou Enlai spoke with Egyptian President Nasser during the Asian-African Conference
Since the conference was held at the height of the Cold War, the Bandung Conference was full of gunpowder from the beginning and there were discordant voices against China. The next day, when it was Zhou Enlai's turn to speak, he temporarily decided to print the original speech as a written version, and he took advantage of his short lunch break to write a supplementary speech.
△ Premier Zhou spoke at the Bandung Conference
Zhou Enlai: After hearing a speech by many heads of delegation, I would like to add a few words...
The translator Pu Shouchang read out Premier Zhou's supplementary speech in English: "The Chinese delegation is here to seek unity rather than quarrel, and we welcome all the representatives of all countries present to visit China."
Pu Shouchang: The Chinese representatives are here to seek unity, not to quarrel. We Communists have never made a secret of the fact that we believe in communism and that the socialist system is good, but at this meeting there is no need to propagate the ideology of the individual and the political system of the nations, although this difference is evident among us. The Chinese delegation came to seek common ground rather than to make a difference...
△ Zhou Enlai and Chen Yi in Chengdu after returning from the Bandung Conference (May 1955)
After Zhou Enlai's speech, the scene erupted into warm applause. The Bandung Conference finally unanimously adopted the Final Communiqué of the Asian-African Conference, and the "Ten Principles of the Bandung Conference" proposed in the communiqué have also become an important norm for regulating international relations. At the Bandung Conference, the difficult new China not only successfully broke the diplomatic deadlock, but also made the Bandung spirit of peaceful coexistence and seeking common ground while reserving differences become a universal consensus, and it is still full of vitality in today's world pattern.
Record China with sound
Producer | Gao Yan
Planned | Wu Junshan Li Qian
The main writer | Wang Yi zhang Chengxia
Broadcast | Changyue
Co-ordinating | Zhu Xingxiao and Wang Zehua
Made | Shan Dan Dan