Developments i n Communist China a t t h i s t i m e encouraged North Vietnam in its decision, based primarily on other con- siderations, to inaugurate a new phase of armed struggle in South Vietnam. First was the adoption of a more radical strategic line by Mao Tse-tung, one which stressed the "paper tiger" character of American power and which advocated a more militant revolutionary struggle. Next was a series of reports that Mao Tse-tung was determined to win MOSCOW~S recognition
of a special role for China in guiding Asian Communist parties and assisting them to power. The militant character of Pei-
ping's new policy was revealed in Premier Chou En-lai's address to the National People's Congress in April 1959 when he pledged "support and assistance to the full extent of our capabilities to all national independence movements in Asia, Africa and
Latin America.