KHRUSHCHEV OFFERS FORMAL CONCESSION TO CHINESE cP
PARIS, Feb. 10 ~= Pravda, central organ of the Soviet Communist party, today printed a Tong article on the "Marxist-Leninist unity of the Communist movement." The conclusion contains a formal concession to the Chinese Communist party leadership; namely, approval of the idea of holding a conference of the world Communist movement "if the brother. parties think this necessary."
Last month at the congress of the East German SED (Socialist Unity party), Khrushchev opposed holding such a conference at present, However, since then various Communist parties have openly supported the proposal which was first put forward by the Chinese. The North Koreans, Indonesians and Japanese all back the Chinese in this.
While presumably accepting the idea, Pravda insists that the success of a world gathering would depend on its preparation; that is, on a series of bilateral or wider meetings “on all levels," so that "time could do its salutary work." Pravda specifies that the healing process should include separation of real differences from secondary and unimportant ones and overcoming the “results of polemical ardor."
In substance, Khrushchev has not altered his opposition to an immediate call for a world conference of the Communist movement as demanded by the Chinese CP.
The Soviet bureaucracy fears a conference in which a more or less coherent minority could freely present its views. The minority would be a substantial one, including the Chinese, North Koreans, Indonesians, the majority or at least half of the Japanese CP, & large minority of the Indian CP, and important currents in the Australian and British CP's, to mention the best Ikmown ones.
a5 . » & conference of this kind would establish a very important precedent -~ coexistence of recognized tendencies within the Com- _munist movement. .
Since Stalin's rise to power, the customary practice has been to either "isolate," then crush and finally oust an opponent tendency (as occurred with the Yugoslav and later the Albanian CP, to cite the most recent examples), or to make a secret deal in which the differences were covered over. The latter would be involved in the "bilateral" meetings which Pravda calls for. The article, in fact, ‘includes a thinly veiled invitation to the Chinese CP:to consider this alternative. -
-The invitation could become attractive if the Kremlin were to 20 ola eee to renew the economic aid to China which was cut ° «