108 { China’s Quest
Nehru saw these as creating a moral international order different, he believed,
from the power politics approach of the Western countries. Beijing saw them
as a device for reassuring the newly emerged countries.^36
A number of delegates opposed reference to the Five Principles on the
grounds that “peaceful coexistence” was a concept devised by Stalin and pro-
moted by Moscow. This criticism reportedly so angered Nehru that he left
the conference hall and was persuaded to return only when told that Zhou
Enlai was preparing to speak. Once again, Zhou used a moderate tone and
reasonable arguments to win over his audience. The key objective, Zhou said,
was unity against colonialism. Such unity could only be achieved if confer-
ence delegates put aside differences in ideology. If “peaceful coexistence” was
a communist term, that term could be set aside and the text of the Preamble
of the UN Charter, which called for nations to “live together in peace with one
another as good neighbors,” could be used instead. If reference to “five prin-
ciples” was objectionable, Zhou said, other principles could be added. Zhou
concluded by proposing a seven-point declaration on peaceful coexistence.
Again Zhou’s moderate and reasonable demeanor won the day. After Nehru
strongly endorsed Zhou’s speech, opposition to “peaceful coexistence” faded
away. Zhou’s personal demeanor—modest but self-confident, firm on princi-
ples but flexible in negotiation, treatment of others as equals open to reason-
able argument and persuasion—impressed many delegates. Zhou expended
considerable effort meeting and talking with delegates, both during and out-
side of conference sessions. As Huang Hua pointed out, China’s role at the
Bandung conference opened the door to increased contacts with many Asian
and African countries.
Chinese breakthroughs with a number of countries followed Bandung. In
August 1955, China and Egypt signed a trade agreement. Zhou and Nasser had
met at Bandung. A cultural exchange agreement came the next April, and
in May the two countries established diplomatic relations at the ambassado-
rial level. Egypt was a leader among Arab countries, and Cairo was an intel-
lectual and political center of the Arab world. Opening ties with Egypt was,
therefore, a major gain for Beijing. Syria and Yemen followed Egypt’s lead in- China and Nepal established diplomatic relations in August 1955. Nepal
was important to Beijing both because of China’s internal security concerns
in Tibet, which borders Nepal to the north, and because of Indian sensitivi-
ties about Nepal’s alignment vis-à-vis China and India. Two months after
China and Nepal established relations, Beijing gave Nepal 60 million Indian
rupees (gratis) to support that country’s first five year plan.^37 This was the
beginning of what would become a chronic pulling and tugging between
Beijing and New Delhi for influence with Kathmandu. With Burma, too,
China’s relations began warming during the Geneva Conference. Zhou vis-
ited the country in June 1954, and the two sides endorsed the Five Principles
of Peaceful Coexistence as the basis of bilateral relations.^38 With Cambodia,