The Crisis Deepens } 511
In the midst of Bulgaria’s struggle, the CCP bolstered the embattled com-
munist forces. Early in September, before the pivotal environmental confer-
ence, Renmin ribao carried a long interview with Zhivkov lauding Bulgaria’s
advances in socialist construction. In October, a large delegation from the
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC—the CCP’s
united front through which noncommunist groups and individuals partici-
pate in politics under the leadership of the CCP)—traveled to Bulgaria. The
two sides exchanged views on the “active participation by social and political
organizations as well as the democratic parties in running the government
and assisting the Communist Party to build a socialist country.” Both sides
believed that “the leadership of the Communist Party and adherence to the
socialist road are prerequisites for ... development ... and the socialist cause
would suffer if those prerequisites are not met.”^17
As opposition mounted in Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria, the CCP decided
to dispatch Qiao Shi and Beijing Party Secretary Li Ximing to Bucharest and
Sofia to support the forces upholding proletariat state power. Li Ximing had
been one of the principals who pushed through the use of all necessary means
to impose martial law in Beijing. Beijing’s efforts to bolster proletarian dic-
tatorship were being overtaken by events. The day Qiao and Li left China for
Bucharest, the pivotal police repression of the protest demonstration occurred
in Prague and Bulgaria’s Zhivkov was replaced by Mladenov. Qiao’s mission
was hastily planned; the visit was not announced until the day of his depar-
ture.^18 The ostensible purpose of Qiao’s visit was to participate in a congress
of the Romanian Communist Party (RCP). Qiao delivered a long CCP state-
ment to that congress, lauding the great struggles and achievements of the
RCP in constructing socialism. The document also pledged China’s support
for a “long period of common revolutionary struggle and construction.”^19
Jiang Zemin sent a message to Nicolae Ceaușescu congratulating him on his
re-election as RCP general secretary.
During his meeting with Qiao, Ceaușescu pleaded for the CCP to join with
Romania to prevent the disintegration of socialism in the remaining East
European socialist countries.^20 Qiao demurred. Beijing was not prepared to
openly oppose the “counterrevolutionary movements” sweeping East Europe.
Beijing offered moral and political support, plus economic and technological
cooperation, as an alternative to Soviet or Western largess. CCP officials may
have explained how to organize a successful armed repression of a “counter-
revolutionary rebellion”; that seems likely to have been a topic of “common
interests” in discussions between CCP and East European hard-line commu-
nists at this juncture. But publicly, Beijing adhered to the policy of noninter-
ference in the internal affairs of other countries and fraternal parties.
Romania was the one East European socialist state where communist
rulers in fact attempted a “Chinese solution.” The result was that Romania
was the only East European state which required a violent revolution to