In early 1949, the U.S. ambassador to China, John Leighton Stuart, was already inclined to recognize the Chinese Communist government and began consulting with ambassadors from other countries, advocating that foreign diplomats remain in Nanjing.

On April 23, Nanjing was taken by Communist forces. Among all foreign missions, only the Soviet ambassador moved south to Guangzhou with the Nationalist government. Zhou Enlai arranged for Huang Hua, who had a teacher–student relationship with Stuart, to serve as director of foreign affairs at the Nanjing Military Control Commission and to maintain private contact with him.

On May 13, 1949, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson sent a cable to Stuart proposing recognition of the Communist government’s control over the country. To America’s disappointment, on June 30 Mao Zedong published On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship, in which he clearly declared that China would adopt a policy of “leaning to one side” toward the Soviet Union.

Stuart conveyed a message to the Chinese Communists: if the CCP adopted a neutral stance between the United States and the Soviet Union, the United States could recognize the new China and provide a loan of 3 billion U.S. dollars. Mao Zedong, however, insisted on the “leaning to one side” policy. On August 2, following instructions from Washington, Stuart left China reluctantly.