430 { China’s Quest
economy. For these provinces, the Soviet Union offered a path to foreign
trade, perhaps allowing them to emulate, at least to some extent, the prosper-
ous paths being pioneered by China’s east coast provinces—if an amicable
framework conducive to Sino-Soviet trade could be worked out.
Both Huang Hua and Qian Qichen trace the beginning of the process of
Sino-Soviet rapprochement to a speech by General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev
in March 1982 in Tashkent, Soviet Uzbekistan. While larded with comments
highly critical of China, Brezhnev’s speech recognized the PRC as a social-
ist country, expressed hope for improved ties with China, and noted that
the Soviet Union, unlike other powers, had never denied that Taiwan was a
part of the PRC. Brezhnev also proposed a revival of talks between the Soviet
Union and the PRC. Deng immediately noted the Soviet leader’s words and
ordered the foreign ministry to prepare a reply. That reply, Deng instructed,
should rebut the many anti-China attacks in Brezhnev’s speech, but also
hint at the awareness of possible new Soviet approaches, while stressing that
China would pay attention to Soviet actions rather than words. Deng’s direc-
tive resulted in a sparse three-sentence statement delivered by Qian Qichen
at what was the MFA’s very first international-style press conference. To re-
inforce Qian’s message, the Chinese embassy in Moscow summoned a Soviet
vice foreign minister to receive the message that the people of both countries
hoped for normalization of relations, and that the time was right for such an
improvement of ties.^3
Deng convened a meeting at his home in Beijing to discuss the apparent
shift in Soviet policy. Chen Yun, Li Xiannian, and several other senior lead-
ers, plus leading cadres from the MFA, including Qian Qichen, attended. The
resulting estimate was that the Soviet Union was bogged down in Afghanistan
and facing a sharp global challenge from a resurgent United States now led
by Ronald Reagan. Recent cooperation between the PRC and the United
States was “most unfavorable” to the Soviet Union, which needed to avoid
simultaneous “attacks” in East and West. Soviet harvests were poor and de-
fense expenditures a heavy burden. Moscow’s apparent search for a relaxa-
tion of tension with China was part of Moscow’s response to these challenges.
China should use the opportunity to improve ties with Moscow, but only on
the basis of principle—specifically, Vietnam’s withdrawal from Cambodia,
Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, and reduction of the large Soviet mil-
itary presence on China’s northern borders. Deng termed these the “three
big obstacles” to Sino-Soviet normalization. Deng also stipulated that China’s
policies toward the Soviet Union should be based on its national interest, not
on ideology. Other participants in the meeting agreed with Deng.^4
Brezhnev, Soviet leader since 1964, when he led a coup ousting Nikita
Khrushchev, died in November 1982. His funeral offered an opportunity
for Beijing to probe possibilities for improved relations. Deng decided that
Huang Hua should be China’s special emissary to the funeral to get a sense of