The Chongqing Negotiation
After winning the war against the Japanese aggression, the Chinese people faced a decision about what kind of China would emerge in the aftermath. The CPC, which represented the fundamental interests of the people, sought to build an independent, democratic and powerful new China. In contrast, the KMT, which represented the big landowners and wealthy bourgeoisie, wanted to wrest the fruits of victory from the hands of the people and to rob them, by means of civil war, of the rights they had just obtained.
In China, the people yearned for peace, not a civil war. Elsewhere in the world, the US, the Soviet Union, and Britain also disapproved of civil war in China. Given this situation, Chiang Kai-shek agreed to peace talks with the CPC. But behind the scenes he was already stepping up preparations for civil war. In August 1945, he sent three telegrams to Mao Zedong, inviting him to Chongqing for a talk on major international and domestic issues.
The CPC, however, had a clear understanding of the situation at home and abroad and of the KMT's plans. In accordance with the people's strong wish for rehabilitation after a long war of resistance, it decided to seek progress and development through peaceful means. At the same time, it would, through the talks, expose the KMT's true intentions, and also make use of the negotiation period to make preparations for any possible changes. So the CPC Central Committee proposed three slogans – peace, democracy and unity – and Mao accepted Chiang's invitation to Chongqing. Meanwhile the people's army was also making preparations for a war of self-defense.
On August 29, 1945, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Wang Ruofei (1896-1946) began negotiating with the KMT in Chongqing. After 43 days, a summary of conversations (the October 10th Agreement) was signed between the representatives of KMT and CPC. The KMT authorities accepted the "basic policy of peace and national reconstruction" put forward by the CPC and agreed to "long-term cooperation, resolute avoidance of civil war, the building of a new independent, free, prosperous and powerful China, and the convening of a political consultative conference." The two sides failed to reach agreement on the legal status of the people's army and the democratic government in the Liberated Areas.
This was a formal document produced through consultation. Its signing postponed the outbreak of an all-out civil war and brought hope for temporary peaceful development.
The Chongqing negotiation and the signing of the October 10th Agreement showed that the KMT authorities had acknowledged the legal status of the CPC, affirmed the need to hold a political consultative conference of different political parties, and made the CPC's political proposals on building a new China through peaceful means known to the general public. A democratic united front was formed, and nationwide movement for peace and democracy was promoted, leaving behind experience for developing the relations of the two parties.
重庆谈判
中华民族经过浴血奋战赢得抗日战争胜利后，又面临着建什么国的斗争。中国共产党代表全国广大人民的根本利益，力图通过和平的途径来建设一个独立、民主、富强的新民主主义中国。代表大地主大资产阶级利益的国民党统治集团，企图抢夺抗战胜利果实，用内战的方式来剥夺人民已经取得的权利。
在国内，抗日战争刚刚结束，要求和平是大势所趋，发动内战不得人心；在国际上，美、苏、英三国也不赞成中国内战。蒋介石鉴于国内外形势，在积极准备内战的同时，表示愿意同中国共产党进行和平谈判。1945年8月中下旬，他连续三次电邀毛泽东去重庆，共同商讨“国际国内各种重要问题”。
中国共产党对当时国内外局势和国民党的内战阴谋都有比较清醒的认识，认为应当因势利导，首先反映人民在长期战乱后休养生息的强烈意愿，争取通过和平的途径来实现中国的进步和发展；同时通过谈判揭露国民党假和平真内战的面目，争取时间作好应变准备。经过反复研究，中共中央决定提出和平、民主、团结三大政治口号，毛泽东接受邀请赴重庆谈判，同时人民军队作好进行自卫战争的各种准备。1945年8月29日，毛泽东、周恩来、王若飞与国民党当局开始谈判。经过43天谈判，国共双方代表于10月10日正式签署会谈纪要，即《双十协定》。国民党当局表示承认“和平建国的基本方针”；同意“长期合作，坚决避免内战，建设独立、自由和富强的新中国”，召开政治协商会议等。但在人民军队和解放区政权两个根本问题上，双方未能达成协议。《双十协定》是以国共两党协商的方式产生的一个正式文件，其签订延缓了全面内战的爆发，为战后国内和平发展带来了希望。
重庆谈判及《双十协定》的签订，表明国民党方面承认了中国共产党的地位，承认了各党派的会议，促使中国共产党关于和平建设新中国的政治主张被全国人民所了解，促进了民主统一战线的形成，推动了全国和平民主运动的发展，也为国共两党关系的发展留下了宝贵的历史经验。