Form an International Anti-Hegemony United Front

Mao Zedong applied the theory of the United Front to the field of diplomacy and gradually put forward and developed the idea of establishing an international anti-imperialist and anti-hegemony united front.

From the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, the movement of Asian, African and Latin American against imperialism and colonialism and for national independence were on the rise; at the same time, the internal contradictions of the capitalist world continued to develop.

In the course of confronting the two great powers of the United States and the Soviet Union, striving for the "intermediate zone" has become an important strategic task of China's diplomatic work. In 1946, Mao Zedong put forward the theory of "intermediate zone" for the first time. From the end of 1957 to 1958, Mao Zedong reintroduced the issue of "intermediate zone". From the end of 1963 to the beginning of 1964, Mao Zedong put forward that there are two parts in the intermediate zone: one refers to a large number of economically backward countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and the other refers to imperialist countries represented by Europe and developed capitalist countries. Both parts are opposed to the control of the United States. In Eastern European countries, there were problems of opposition to Soviet Union control.

Based on the above analysis, Mao Zedong concluded that “the people of the countries in the socialist camp should unite, the people of the countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America should unite, the people of all the continents should unite, all peace-loving countries should unite, and all countries subjected to U.S. aggression, control, intervention or bullying should unite, and so form the broadest united front to oppose the U.S. imperialist policies of aggression and war and to defend world peace.”

The Chinese leaders believe that from the point of view of the socialist strategy against imperialism, the first middle ground and the national democratic movement are direct allies, and we should give them the greatest support and unite them; the contradictions between the second middle ground and U.S. imperialism should also be fully utilized and made into indirect allies.

As the international situation changed, the CPC Central Committee has further updated its understanding of the international situation. In February 1974, when Mao Zedong talked with President Kaunda of Zambia, he first put forward the strategic idea of the division of the "three worlds".

According to this division, China, as a member of the Third World, should strengthen its solidarity with the majority of the Third World countries, fight for the Second World countries and unite against the control and oppression of the superpowers; in the struggle against the hegemony of the two superpowers of the First World, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, it should pay attention to uniting with the less threatening side and concentrate its efforts against the more dangerous Soviet Union hegemony.