China's "View"

Q.
Do you think that the internal developments in China today will generally lessen international tension and correct the world view of China?

A.
Well, in all these developments I find one rather very dangerous aspect. Modernisation and similar other things are certainly good for China, and nobody can take any objection to them. But' China's world view has not changed at all. It does not believe in detente. It believes in the inevitability of a third world war and its effort for modernisation is in support of this world view. Therefore, there are dangers to world peace involved in this view.

Q.
In the introductory article you have stated that India has to be cautious about certain vested interests and the role of China and also about the triangular game of super powers. Could you give us any concrete comment on the areas and the countries you have in mind?

A.
At the present moment if you see the relationship between the United States of America and the U.S.S.R. on the one side and between the United States of America and China on the other, one feels -- if I can use the phrase that I just saw in the interview of Brezhnev — whether China wants to make use of the United States card or whether the U.S.A. wants to make use of the Chinese card. The question is: who is using whom for what? Such a feeling ultimately does not lead to stabilised relationship. It creates suspicion and doubts. It may perhaps lead to further armament race and possibly take the world back to the cold war.

Q.
Some of the internal developments in China appear to be extremely significant in terms of international relations. There is a "voice" which seems to be at variance with the general voice in China which has been published in their wall newspapers. Do you think this will perhaps make the Chinese leadership cor­rect their wrong notions about the third world war?

A.
I wish it does. But it does not seem to be going in that direction. The speeches Teng Hsiao-ping made in the United States and the interview he gave to one of the American maga­zines show China is convinced of the correctness of its basic world view and the other steps that they are taking in support of that view. They think that in the changing situation they can use the relationship with the United States and the Western countries to create cold war conditions in the relations between the U.S.S.R. and the Western world. That is the first impression that I get.