25 JANUARY 1957, Page 7

rr SEEMs TO ME that one of the most notable

of the recent setbacks to Soviet policy has been Chinese intervention, not only in the Middle East, but in Russia's European protectorates as well. This is a far cry from the time when Stalin used to replace Chinese Communist leaderships at will, and even from a year ago, when Khrushchev and Rulganin were staking a personal claim in Burma, to the obvious distaste of Peking. It is now learned that Khrushchev recently paid a secret visit to China, apparently to appeal for support against his rivals in the Kremlin. Chou En-lai visited only the trouble spots of Eastern Europe, Warsaw and Budapest, calling in in Moscow on his way back. He was also called on to make a speech to the Moscow students who, with their 'demagogy' and secret. magazines, were becoming a third major headache. I wonder how soon, and how smugly, Peking will be announcing that its troops are only in action in Moscow to 'restore order,' at the invitation of some Russian Kadar.