The Chongqing Negotiation

After winning the war against the Japanese aggression, the Chinese people faced a decision about what kind of China would emerge in the aftermath. The CPC, which represented the fundamental interests of the people, sought to build an independent, democratic and powerful new China. In contrast, the KMT, which represented the big landowners and wealthy bourgeoisie, wanted to wrest the fruits of victory from the hands of the people and to rob them, by means of civil war, of the rights they had just obtained.

In China, the people yearned for peace, not a civil war. Elsewhere in the world, the US, the Soviet Union, and Britain also disapproved of civil war in China. Given this situation, Chiang Kai-shek agreed to peace talks with the CPC. But behind the scenes he was already stepping up preparations for civil war. In August 1945, he sent three telegrams to Mao Zedong, inviting him to Chongqing for a talk on major international and domestic issues.

The CPC, however, had a clear understanding of the situation at home and abroad and of the KMT's plans. In accordance with the people's strong wish for rehabilitation after a long war of resistance, it decided to seek progress and development through peaceful means. At the same time, it would, through the talks, expose the KMT's true intentions, and also make use of the negotiation period to make preparations for any possible changes. So the CPC Central Committee proposed three slogans – peace, democracy and unity – and Mao accepted Chiang's invitation to Chongqing. Meanwhile the people's army was also making preparations for a war of self-defense.

On August 29, 1945, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Wang Ruofei (1896-1946) began negotiating with the KMT in Chongqing. After 43 days, a summary of conversations (the October 10th Agreement) was signed between the representatives of KMT and CPC. The KMT authorities accepted the "basic policy of peace and national reconstruction" put forward by the CPC and agreed to "long-term cooperation, resolute avoidance of civil war, the building of a new independent, free, prosperous and powerful China, and the convening of a political consultative conference." The two sides failed to reach agreement on the legal status of the people's army and the democratic government in the Liberated Areas.

This was a formal document produced through consultation. Its signing postponed the outbreak of an all-out civil war and brought hope for temporary peaceful development.

The Chongqing negotiation and the signing of the October 10th Agreement showed that the KMT authorities had acknowledged the legal status of the CPC, affirmed the need to hold a political consultative conference of different political parties, and made the CPC's political proposals on building a new China through peaceful means known to the general public. A democratic united front was formed, and nationwide movement for peace and democracy was promoted, leaving behind experience for developing the relations of the two parties.

重慶談判

中華民族經過浴血奮戰贏得抗日戰爭勝利后，又面臨著建什么國的斗爭。中國共產黨代表全國廣大人民的根本利益，力圖通過和平的途徑來建設一個獨立、民主、富強的新民主主義中國。代表大地主大資產階級利益的國民黨統治集團，企圖搶奪抗戰勝利果實，用內戰的方式來剝奪人民已經取得的權利。

在國內，抗日戰爭剛剛結束，要求和平是大勢所趨，發動內戰不得人心；在國際上，美、蘇、英三國也不贊成中國內戰。蔣介石鑒于國內外形勢，在積極準備內戰的同時，表示愿意同中國共產黨進行和平談判。1945年8月中下旬，他連續三次電邀毛澤東去重慶，共同商討“國際國內各種重要問題”。

中國共產黨對當時國內外局勢和國民黨的內戰陰謀都有比較清醒的認識，認為應當因勢利導，首先反映人民在長期戰亂后休養生息的強烈意愿，爭取通過和平的途徑來實現中國的進步和發展；同時通過談判揭露國民黨假和平真內戰的面目，爭取時間作好應變準備。經過反復研究，中共中央決定提出和平、民主、團結三大政治口號，毛澤東接受邀請赴重慶談判，同時人民軍隊作好進行自衛戰爭的各種準備。1945年8月29日，毛澤東、周恩來、王若飛與國民黨當局開始談判。經過43天談判，國共雙方代表于10月10日正式簽署會談紀要，即《雙十協定》。國民黨當局表示承認“和平建國的基本方針”；同意“長期合作，堅決避免內戰，建設獨立、自由和富強的新中國”，召開政治協商會議等。但在人民軍隊和解放區政權兩個根本問題上，雙方未能達成協議。《雙十協定》是以國共兩黨協商的方式產生的一個正式文件，其簽訂延緩了全面內戰的爆發，為戰后國內和平發展帶來了希望。

重慶談判及《雙十協定》的簽訂，表明國民黨方面承認了中國共產黨的地位，承認了各黨派的會議，促使中國共產黨關于和平建設新中國的政治主張被全國人民所了解，促進了民主統一戰線的形成，推動了全國和平民主運動的發展，也為國共兩黨關系的發展留下了寶貴的歷史經驗。