Order Ending the State of War Between the PRC and Germany
Compiled from the merged Wikisource corpus; dating follows the standard catalogue. See Guide · Editions & Language for the sourcing rule.
Introduction
In 1955, Mao Zedong, Chairman of the PRC, issued this order, declaring that the state of war between the PRC and Germany was thereby ended and that peaceful relations between the two countries should be established. The preamble states the origin of China's declaration of war on Germany on 9 December 1941, and the post-war division of Germany and the failure to conclude a peace treaty.
Because Hitlerite Germany launched a fascist war of aggression that wrecked the peace of the world, and supported Japan's war of aggression against China, China declared on 9 December 1941 that a state of war existed between herself and Germany. After the Hitlerite aggressors were annihilated, the Potsdam Conference of 1945 decided the course by which Germany should develop into a peaceful, democratic and united country and a peace treaty with Germany should be concluded.
But because the three powers — the United States, Britain and France — have consistently pursued a policy of dividing Germany, reviving militarism in West Germany and drawing it into aggressive military blocs, Germany remains divided and the peace treaty with Germany remains unconcluded. Now the three powers, by pressing to put the Paris agreements into effect, are actively scheming to obstruct still further the peaceful unification of Germany and the conclusion of a peace treaty, and the peace and security of Europe are gravely threatened.
The People's Republic of China firmly supports the struggle of the German Democratic Republic and the whole German people, and of the Soviet Union and all peace-loving countries and peoples, for the peaceful unification of Germany, for the conclusion of a peace treaty with Germany, for collective security in Europe and for the safeguarding of world peace. At the same time, in the interests of the Chinese people and of the whole German people, and pursuant to the resolution adopted at the ninth session of the Standing Committee of the First National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on 7 April 1955, it is hereby proclaimed:
1. The state of war between the People's Republic of China and Germany ends as of this date. Relations of peace should be established between the two countries.
2. The ending of the state of war between the People's Republic of China and Germany does not alter Germany's international obligations, nor does it affect the rights enjoyed and the obligations assumed by the People's Republic of China under the international agreements concerning Germany.
Mao Zedong, Chairman of the People's Republic of China
The base text is the Wikisource version, seven paragraphs. The order rests on the resolution of the 9th session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on 7 April 1955, noted in the body; it is signed by Mao Zedong, Chairman of the PRC.
The order has two articles: the first ends the state of war and calls for peaceful relations to be established; the second says ending the state of war neither alters Germany's international obligations nor affects the rights China enjoys and the obligations it bears under international agreements concerning Germany.
The preamble also mentions the 1945 Potsdam Conference and the policy of the US, Britain and France, and the Paris Agreements then being brewed. These statements form the explanation of the order's reason, connecting with the two articles that follow.