Barrett’s team was struck by the Communists’ vigor and popularity. Jack Service, who did the bulk of the political reporting, called the party’s leaders “modern” and “Western” and compared them favorably with the has-beens in Chongqing. Service took seriously Mao’s remarks that “what China needs most is democracy, not socialism” and that foreign capital would be welcome in China after the war. Service did not realize that Mao’s charm offensive had been carefully calibrated with Stalin to veil the party’s radical intentions and attract Chinese liberals
