The Bandung Conference of 1955
(fmprc.gov.cn)
Summarize By Eri Rm
The Asian-African Conference, also known as the Bandung Conference, was held in Bandung, Indonesia from 18 to 24 April, 1955. In April 1954, the Indonesian Government proposed the convocation of an Asian-African conference. In December of the same year, the five Prime Ministers of Burma, Ceylon(Sri Lanka), India, Indonesia and Pakistan held a conference in Bogor, Indonesia and reached an agreement on convening an Asian-African conference and decided that the conference would be jointly proposed by the five countries.
The conference reached consensus on the mutual interests and some issues of major concern to the Asian African countries and a "Final Communiqu" was adopted the contents of which included economic cooperation, cultural cooperation, human rights and self-determination, the issue of people in dependent countries, other issues, promotion of world peace and cooperation as well as the adoption of the Declaration on Promotion of World Peace and Cooperation and listed ten principles in handling international relations. The Conference enhanced the unity and cooperation among the Asian and African countries, inspired the people in the colonies to struggle for national liberation and played a significant role in promoting the anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist struggle of the Asian and African people and in consolidating their unity.
It was the first international conference held by Asian and African countries themselves without the participation of any Western colonial power. During the conference, the imperialists, especially the United States tried its utmost to create disputes by using some countries. As a result, three staff members of the Chinese delegation, five Chinese journalists and three foreign journalists were killed.
The Chinese Government had all along adopted a positive attitude of supporting the Asian-African Conference. The Chinese Delegation to the Conference was led by Premier and Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai and members of the delegation were composed of Vice-Premier Chen Yi, Minister of Foreign Trade Ye Jizhuang, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanfu and Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Huang Zhen. Faced with the danger of the Conference being sidetracked, Premier Zhou Enlai changed his mind. All the Asian and African countries gained their independence from colonialist rule whether these countries are led by the communist or nationalists. Premier Zhou's speech won widespread acclaim among the delegates of the participating countries. During the Conference, the Chinese Delegation advocated the principle of seeking common ground while putting aside difference which not only won the support of overwhelming number of delegates but also laid the ground for the success of the Conference.
