In early October 1950, China’s leaders debated whether to send troops to Korea. On October 2, Mao Zedong told the Soviet side that “many comrades in the Central Committee believe that we must act with caution.” At an enlarged Politburo meeting on October 4 and 5, Peng Dehuai supported Mao’s decision to send troops. On October 8, Peng was appointed commander of the Chinese People’s Volunteers.
According to the memoirs of Nie Rongzhen, Mao had first chosen Lin Biao to command, and Lin, afraid, used illness as a pretext and refused to go. One historian notes that there is no documentary evidence for this account, only the recollections of people who were there.