The series of documents agreed upon at the Geneva Conference in July 1954 (the Geneva Accords) ended the colonial war started by France with the attempt to reoccupy Indochina. The accords dismantled the French empire into three countries—Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos—and stipulated that the people of the three countries would determine their future through general elections. China played a significant role in promoting the agreement of the accords. Through the Geneva Conference, China won the international prestige, enhanced the national image, and, above all, frustrated the attempt of the United States to turn Indochina into an anti-China and anti-communist military base, thereby preserving the security of China’s south gate. Chinese leaders assured Vietnamese leaders that China would “strive to ensure the thorough implementation of the Geneva Accords, and preserve and consolidate peace and security in Asia and the whole world.”