Polemic on General Line of International ... - From Marx to Mao

pursue the policy of peaceful coexistence. As for oppressedpeoples and nations, their task is to strive for their ownliberation and overthrow the rule of imperialism and itslackeys. They should not practise peaceful coexistence withthe imperialists and their lackeys, nor is it possible for themto do so.It is therefore wrong to apply peaceful coexistence to therelations between oppressed and oppressor classes and betweenoppressed and oppressor nations, or to stretch thesocialist countries’ policy of peaceful coexistence so as tomake it the policy of the Communist Parties and the revolutionarypeople in the capitalist world, or to subordinate therevolutionary struggles of the oppressed peoples and nationsto it.We have always held that the correct application of Lenin’spolicy of peaceful coexistence by the socialist countries helpsto develop their power, to expose the imperialist policies ofaggression and war and to unite all the anti-imperialist peoplesand countries, and it therefore helps the people’s strugglesagainst imperialism and its lackeys. At the same time, bydirectly hitting and weakening the forces of aggression, warand reaction, the people’s revolutionary struggles against imperialismand its lackeys help the cause of world peace andhuman progress, and therefore help the socialist countries’struggle for peaceful coexistence with countries havingdifferent social systems. Thus, the correct application ofLenin’s policy of peaceful coexistence by the socialist countriesis in harmony with the interests of the people’s revolutionarystruggles in all countries.However, the socialist countries’ struggle for peaceful coexistencebetween countries with different social systems andthe people’s revolution in various countries are two totallydifferent things.In its letter of June 14 replying to the Central Committeeof the CPSU, the Central Committee of the CPC states:285