 Zhou emerged from the Bandung conference with a reputation as a flexible and open-minded negotiator.Recognizing that the United States would back the "de facto" independence of ROC-controlled Taiwan with military force, Zhou persuaded his government to end the shelling of Quemoy and Matsu, and to search for a diplomatic alternative to the confrontation instead.In a formal announcement in May 1955, Zhou declared that the PRC would "strive for the liberation of Taiwan by peaceful means so far as it is possible."