Now I shall speak on current affairs. As you see it, can socialism be accomplished? Perhaps you're perturbed-with seven buckets coming up and eight buckets going down-maybe socialism will fail. Maybe the socialist camp will collapse. In my view, even if socialism were to collapse, it would not be such a big thing-nothing terrifying. The most important countries in the socialist camp are the Soviet Union and China. It is correct for China to close up to the Soviet Union. But some people still doubt this principle, saying China should not stand close with the Soviet Union, but can take a neutral position between the Soviet Union and the United States, Playing the role of a bridge. In our opinion, standing in the middle is not a good idea; it is not in the interests of our nation, for on one side is powerful imperialism by which China has long been oppressed. If we stand between the Soviet Union and the United States, it may look good and independent, but it can't be true independence. The United States is not to be relied on. It may give you something, but not much. Can it be imagined that the imperialists will help feed our country full? The imperialists have been oppressing Asian, African and Latin American countries for decades and centuries, never allowing them to eat their fill. The forces of the imperialist powers burned down our Yuanmingyuan and seized our Hong Kong and Taiwan. Hong Kong belongs to China. Why was it snatched away? Why could the Bandung Conference unite so many Asian and African countries? Because of the aggression and oppression of imperialism. Principal among the imperialist powers is the United States. It is inappropriate to fancy that we could benefit from playing the role of a bridge between the Soviet Union and the United States. We still don't have the ability to design big factories. Who is helping us design them? The chemical, iron and steel, oil refining, tank, automobile and aircraft industries, for example-who helps us design them? Never has a single imperialist country given us help on this. Within our democratic parties, nonparty personages, high-level intellectuals, religious, industrial and commercial circles, even among a part of the proletariat are people who cherish the illusion that the United States will help us, and Britain will help us. No, they won't.

　　Is it right to "lean to one side"? By leaning to one side we side with the Soviet Union, and this leaning on one side is based on equality. We believe in Marxism-Leninism and combine the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the actual conditions in China, instead of uncritically copying from the experiences of the Soviet Union. It is wrong to uncritically copy from the experiences of the Soviet Union. Our transformation of capitalist industry and commerce and our cooperative movement in agriculture are different from what they have done in the Soviet Union.

(From the verbatim record)