SECRET In his apeech of August 8, Malenkov went out of his way to stress the importance of China's friendship and her preeminent position in the bloc of popular democracies. Soviet and Chinese interests appear to runparallel, for the time being, and China looks to the Soviet Union for the help which she requires for her industrialisation programme and for the modernisation of her armed forces. The position of China in relation to the Soviet Union is thus rather that of a partner in an axis than of a satellite or creature; while on the doctrinal side, Mao Tse-tung is accorded a special position as the exponent of Marxism-Leninism in the context of the Chinese Revolution.