The Sino-Soviet Schism } 127
who had unleashed the war. As a result, capitalism would be overthrown, and
the whole world would become socialist, bringing an end to imperialism and
war. Thus, fearing nuclear war was worse than not fearing it. Mao shared his
thoughts about world war to the delegates this way:
Let us imagine how many people would die if war breaks out. There are
2.7 billion people in the world, and a third would be lost. If it is a little
higher it could be half. ... I say that if the worst came to the worst and
one-half dies, there will still be one-half left, but imperialism would be
erased and the whole world would become socialist. After a few years
there would be 2.7 billion people again.^30
Conference delegates listened in shocked silence as Mao talked glibly about
nuclear war. The Soviet and European (East and West) delegates were espe-
cially shocked. Having recently experienced the devastation of World War II,
many had difficulty believing what they were hearing. Some began to doubt
the mental balance of China’s bold leader. While calling on the socialist camp
to go on the offensive without fear of nuclear war, Mao strongly affirmed
Soviet leadership of that camp
We are so many people here, with so many parties, we must have a
head ... If the Soviet Union is not the head, then who is? Should we do it
by alphabetical order? Albania? Vietnam with comrade Ho Chi Minh?
Another country? China does not qualify to be the head, we do not have
enough experience. We know about revolution, but not about socialist
construction. Demographically we are a huge country, but economi-
cally we are small.”^31
Khrushchev initially urged that the CPSU not be identified as the leader,
lest such identification cause apprehensions among other fraternal parties.
Mao rejected this and insisted that the CPSU must be the leader. When
Khrushchev proposed CPSU-CCP joint leadership, Mao declined. Only the
USSR was qualified to lead the world movement; China lacked such quali-
fications, Mao insisted. When Khrushchev proposed that the CCP take the
lead in developing ties with India, Pakistan, and Indonesia—three Asian
nations with economic conditions similar to China’s own, Khrushchev
noted—Mao again declined: “No, it’s out of the question. The leading role
in Africa and Asia should belong to the Soviet Union ... I think the CPSU
should be the one and only center of the international communist move-
ment, and the rest of us should be united around that center.”^32 Eventually
Khrushchev agreed. The final declaration referred to “the invincible camp
of Socialist countries headed by the Soviet Union” and to “the Soviet Union,
the first and mightiest Socialist power.”^33 When drafting the final declara-
tion of the conference, the CCP argued in favor of explicitly identifying US
imperialism as the key enemy of the people of the world. After the Polish,