membership of the UN
-War was a drain on the already screwed up economy, took a long time to fix it
-National unity helped CCP and Mao to crush the remaining GMD elements.
-Hardened China’s resolve to stand alone in a hostile world.
-Chinese blood, not Soviet blood shed for the cause of international communism, resulting in a
loss in prestige for the USSR.
-The war basically ended in a draw, demonstrating that the Chinese did not have to fear the US,
but there were now deep differences between the two countries.
THE ORIGIN OF SINO-AMERICAN HOSTILITY
There were clear reasons for this tension
i. ‘loss of China’ to communism
ii. Korean War
iii. CIA involvment in Tibet
iv. US protection of Taiwan
v. US refusal to recognise the PRC
vi. Development of Chinese atomic weapons in the 60s
vii. Deep-set ideological differences
1950> PRC is anti-US imperialism, to such a degree that Chinese school children chanted ‘Death
to the American imperialists and all their running dogs’. Campaign peaked in the late 60s with
the Cultural revolution and the Vietnam War.
Although Mao was publicly aggressive, like Stalin he was shit-scared of a US attack to destroy
communism and the PRC.
Divised the 3rd line- a network of fortifications to withstand even a nuclear bombardment from
the US. DXP organised this system for Mao, to be located in the remote regions of Central China
into which the population could be withdrawn. The construction of the system required huge
industrial relocation, and although the project was never completed, the constructions remained
a model for the other large scale projects that came during the full-scale industrialisation of
China.
THE PARTING OF THE ‘BAMBOO CURTAIN’
An easing of the rivarly came in the 70s.
-In 1971 the US formally recognised the PRC’s right to replace Taiwan in the UN, leading to a
reduction in tension, although the fear of attack remained right up to Mao’s death.
-Zhou Enlai and Kissinger conducted the initial diplomacy. The US table-tennis team was invited
to tour China, spawning the term ‘ping-pong diplomacy’.
-These talks paved the way for Nixon’s visit to China in February of 1972, which was a hugely
important symbol. Also indicated that the Cultural Revolution was coming to an end, and that
China was prepared to be more outward looking
THE TAIWAN ISSUE
1950 US and Truman announced that they would not wish to establish bases on Taiwan or
intefere with the situation. However, the seizure did not go ahead. There were two reasons for
this.
i. The PLA did not possess the necessary air power and landing craft to mount a
successful invasion of the island which was very well defended.
ii. As a result of the Korean War, the straits between China and the mainland had been
neutralised to prevent them falling under Communist Chinese control. US ships were deployed
and patrolled the area, and troops and weapons were sent to the Nationalists on the island.
The two strategically important islands of Quemoy and Matsu were periodically shelled, even
after the Korean war was over, and in 1958 they were heavily shelled. This coincided with
major troop buildups suggesting an imminent invasion, as US ships were also fired on in the
straits, but the Communists were never in a position to invade and risk war with the US.
THE PRC AND HONG KONG
BACKGROUND:
-HK is made up of three areas, Hong Kong island, Kowloon and the New territories
-Island had been ceded to the British with the Treaty of Nanjing of 1842, and again with Beijing
convention of 1860.
-1898, Britain takes over the rest of the Kowloon peninsula, ceded only on a 99 year lease.
-From 1949, it became a haven for those fleeing the communists, or for those who did not want
to live under the new regime, such as bankers and businessmen.
PRC AND ANTI-COLONIALISM
BACKGROUND:
-PRC regarded itself as a model of successful resistance of imperialism.
-Maoist China rather than the USSR claimed to be the voice of the revolution.
-Wanted to lead newly independent countries to take the Maoist path, such as South American,
SE Asian and African countries
-Aimed to undermine Western imperialism
ROLE OF ZHOU ENLAI:
-Veteran Maoist and China’s leading foreign representative (signed treaty ending Korea)
-Went to the BANDUNG CONFERENCE in 1955. This was a meeting in response to SEATO,
comprising of 29 Asian and African states who wished to assert their independence in the cold
war. Zhou himself argued that the US aggressive stance was the greatest challenge to world
peace.
WAS THE PRC ANY GOOD AT THE ANTI-COLONIALIST THING?
-PRC failed in its two aims, as it never dominated world communism (except when it became the
largest Marxist state in 1991), and never led the ex-colonial world.
-Had gained the allegiance of only one European country, which was Albania (lucky China)
WHY WERE THEY SO CRAP?
-Didn’t have the necessary economic or military resources to be a genuine world leader
-Not involved activly in Latin America, partly due to the problem posed by the distance rendering
any significant program of assistance almost impossible to undertake.
-Got nukes in 64, but didn’t have a sophisticated weapons delivery system
-Expatriate problem
-Tibet
-Cultural revolution all didn’t impress the newly emerging nations.
CHINA’S EXPATRIATE PROBLEM
WHO ARE THE EXPATRIATES?
-Many Chinese lived and worked outside of China.
-These Chinese failed to integrate very effectively, and regarded themselves as loyal to the PRC
WHAT DID THEY DO?
-In disputes, such as in Indonesia and Malaysia, took the side of the PRC
-In Malaya, during the struggle against British rule in the 50s, much of the independence
movement was made up of Chinese Communists.
-1959 were massacred by Indonesians, in response to their dominance of local business and
trade. 1000s were killed, and large amounts of property destroyed.
-They were deeply resented in many Asian countries, particularly during the Cultural revolution,
when they pissed people off even more that usual.
-Posed a problem for the Chinese as the liberator of oppressed people
TIBET AND CHINA
-PRC claimed that this land belonged to China, and sent a PLA army in to achieced ‘reunification’
in 1950.
-As to whether this claim was valid or not, it was certainly distinctly dodgy.
-Tibetans have different race culture and religion
-Took only six months to overcome the resistance, and the region was then renamed Xizang
-Despite the harsh treatment of those who protested against this, the response from the major
powers was not large
-Britain not bothered as India had become independent in 1947
-US not fussed as sphere of interest in Asia did not include Tibet
CHINA IN TIBET AFTER 1950
-Tried to destroy the Tibetan identity by importing lots of Han settlers and imposing a Chinese-
style life on them
-Any resitance met fiercly by the authorities, but the Tibetans remained determined
-Rumour that some of the resistors may have been trained by the CIA, and the Chinese
response to the resitance was to destroy many symbols of the region’s Buddhist religion
THE DALAI LAMA
-Fled in 1959, so as to voice the plight of his people as a symbol in exile
IMPACT ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
-India not convinced that it was an internal Chinese affair, and as a result, relations that should
have been good given the similar position of the two countries were constantly strained. They
were concerned about Chinese territorial aspirations in the region
-In 1956, the Chinese began the construction of a roadway into Indian territory, and this sparked
border clashes which were to continue throughout the 1950s.
-1959, the Indian gov’t under Nehru let the Dalai Lama crash in India for a while
-1962 full scale war broke out along the border, which China ‘won’
-1970s some easing in the occupation
THE IMPACT OF THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION
-Always undermined ZE’s efforts to extend the PRC influence, he had vast diplomatic experience
-African states would have welcomed Chinese aid and support, but feared that it came at the
price of political subordination. Not all wanted to accept the supremacy of Maoist thought
-During the Cultural Revolution, ZE was forced to withdraw from government, and without him
the PRC was diplomatically screwed
-Some embassies also burnt down (GB and Indonesia), and the atmosphere in China was
distinctly anti foreign
-In this position, they were hardly the best candidates to be leaders of the oppressed people of
the world.
CHINA AND INTERNATIONAL REVOLUTION
AIMS:
-To turn China into a modern nation and to lead other countries to revolution, particularly those
that had just been freed from colonialism
CHINESE VIEW OF MARXISM:
-Revolutionary had to discover the series of scientific truths and reconstruct society around
them, similar to dogmatic revolution
SINO-SOVIET ISSUES:
-There were significant splits between the Soviet view and the Chinese view of Marxism, led to
tension right from the birth of the PRC
-Originally Mao declared he would ‘lean to one side’ in chinese foreign policy, supporting the
USSR, and US was expecting the two to join together
-The huge differences between the USSR and China were not really recognised by the Western
world, didn’t recognise that the establishment of the PRC was in no way aided by the USSR or
Stalin
-Some believed that the split was a myth to decieve the West, but the split was a very real one
THE ROOTS OF SINO-SOVIET RIVALRY
TERRITORIAL PROBLEMS:
-Shared a 4500 mile border, and the two were wary of one another, even in Tsarist times
-Bolsheviks seized outer Mongolia in 1919
-When they got Manchuria back, the Russians had striped it of its industry and resources
PERSONAL DISPUTES:
-In part due to the different interpretations of Marxism, peasant v worker, cabbage communists
etc.
-CCP was almost destroyed by Stalin, who completely underestimated their strength, so Mao
found it hard to see them as the true voice of Communism after they had given their support to
the GMD right up to 1949
-Mao was not keen on being regarded as inferior to Stalin
MAO AND STALIN
-When visiting in 1950 to agree the terms of the treaty of friendship, Stalin adopted a superior
air which pissed off Mao
-Personal dislike between the two men
IMPLICATIONS OF THE 1950 TREATY:
-USSR hoping to exploit China
-The aid was most definitely a loan, and not a gift, and it was to be paid back, plus interest
KOREAN WAR:
-Chinese had to pay for absolutely every bit of equipment provided for them by the USSR
-Possible also that Stalin prevented an early armistice in the conflict so as to exhaust the
Chinese, and the USSR never became directly involved to help them out
SOVIET INFLUENCE IN CHINA:
-Two hundred construction projects were undertaken by Soviet planners and engineers in China
during the 1950s, and many new public buildings bore the Soviet stamp
-Unfortunately, Mao needed the material aid, and there was nowhere else that he could get it
from
-Only Soviet technology was permitted in China, even when it was inferior to Western methods
(inc. Lysenkoism, but that wasn’t really the USSR’s fault)
-Only in the 1960s could China become more independent
CHINA AND DE-STALINISATION
IMPACT OF OCT ’56 SPEECH:
-His death triggered something of a ‘honeymoon’ period in the mid 50s, and new loans and
technology were promised by the new leadership
-Mao disturbed by Khrushchev’s speech of Oct 56 which was anti-cult of personality, and viewed
events such as Hungary as indicative of K’s inablity to control the Soviet empire
-Also didn’t like the softening of attitudes to the West, and still believed that violent struggle
between the proletariat and capitalists was both necessary and entirely acceptable
IMPACT OF ’57 CONFERENCE:
-Mao attended, and made it known that the USSR was being to accomodating and soft in its
attitudes to the West
-Mao called for an abandonment of revisionism, and feared that a détente would leave China
diplomatically isolated. Hence, he wanted the USSR to do the same as China and attempt to aid
newly emerging nations on the path to communism
-DXP argued that armed struggle was necessary and the correct path, and the admiration which
he gained for stating this so well humiliated the USSR
MAO AND KHRUSHCHEV
-K attempted to improve relations between the USSR and the PRC
INITIAL PROBLEMS:
-The inept Yudin had given the impression in 1958 in negotiations regarding a joint naval
program that the USSR wished to absorb the Chinese navy, and K went to China to try to
convince them that this was not the case, where he was treated pretty badly, they ended up
having discussions in Mao’s pool, which did not suit fat-bastard-non-swimmer K, and little was
agreed
-DXP continued to attack the USSR, and claimed that advisors in China were spies, accusing
them of betraying the communist revolutionary movement
TAIWAN ISSUES:
-Mao’s troop buildup in 58 was not approved with USSR, and Mao had to back down in the face
of an American response as the USSR had refused to support him
-K denounced the Chinese as Trotskyists, and refused to help them at the risk of pissing off the
US, accusing them of having no sense of political reality
-Economic advisors were withdrawn and commercial contracts in China cancelled
USSR RESPONSE TO GLF:
-USSR dismissed it in 1959 as badly planned and carried out, and there were rumours that
Marshal Peng Dehuai had passed on info to the USSR about the famine
HOW THE CHINESE REACTED:
-The Chinese wished to embarrass the USSR, and did this through supporting countries which
were hostile to the USSR. An example of this was Albania, from which the USSR withdrew all
aid in 1961. After the withdrawl the Chinese stepped in, and despite the fact that it was an
irrelevant country the Chinese still supported it, simply because it was on bad terms with the
USSR
-In 1961, ZE also walked out of the Moscow conference of the CPSU after K slagged off the
Albanians and indirectly attacked the Chinese
THE 60S AND 70S:
-Insulted each other, personal hatred again
-There were also many violent border disputes during this period
-In addition to this, the USSR refused to return the territories gained through the unequal
treaties, and the Chinese viewed this as no better than the behaviour of the imperial oppressors
of the 19th Century.
-During the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the USSR provided India with MIGs and ‘morally
supported’ India
THE ISSUE OF CO-EXISTENCE
-The outcome of the Cuban missile crisis was viewed as a success by most onlookers, but the
Chinese viewed it as a betrayal of the revolution. They did not wish to co-exist with capitalist
countries
-The USSR thought that China could not claim to speak for the international proletariat
-In 1964, when he fell from power, Khrushchev was still trying to convince the other Marxist
states of the world that Chinese Communism was wrong, and continued a policy which aimed to
isolate them. Said that the Chinese were trying to take over and swamp the West, beginning
with the USSR, and branded Mao as petty bourgeois with fanatical policies such as the Cultural
Revolution. Also accused them of several other things, such as sending supplies to the US
troops in Vietnam
MAO’S CONCEPT OF CONTINUING REVOLUTION
-Mao described the USSR’s leaders as ‘social fascists’, who were guilty of perverting Marxism,
condemning both their policies of co-existence and economic reform
-He encouraged newly emerging countries to follow the Chinese path, and advocated Trotskyist
ideas of permenant revolution, in which revolution is an ongoing process as opposed to a single
event. If a revolution were to stop, it would fall prey to reaction
WHICH COUNTRY WAS THE REAL LEADER OF WORLD COMMUNISM?
-USSR, first communist country with ‘great’ revolution, or China with its peasant based
revolution offering a model for all (stupid) oppressed people?
-Was Maoism just inferior Marxism, or had the USSR really betrayed the cause of world
revolution by attempting to co-exist with Western countries. (Or were they both crap)
THE NUCLEAR ISSUE
TEST BAN TREATY 1963:
-USSR and Western powers had pledged to end atmospheric testing of atomic bombs, a step
which was viewed by the Chinese as yet another step in their policy of abandonning its
revolutionary role
-K responded by stating that China wanted to see East and West destroying one another leaving
China free to dominate the world
-Mao was determined that China would develop atomic weapons unaided, and pressed on with
the research program even following the withdrawl of Soviet scientists in 1960
-1964 first atomic bomb
-1967 first hydrogen bomb, and was now on equal terms with the rest of the world, and was the
real leader of oppressed people now. Quite chuffed to have achieved it without Soviet
assistance
-China did not seem to have the same fear of nuclear war, and indeed almost appeared to view
the use of such weapons as being part of Marxist progression
PRC AND BREZHNEV
-Mr B had Stalinistesque foreign policy, and wanted to maintain stability through forcing all
Eastern European countries under Soviet control
-At 3rd international communist conference in 1969, he attempted to outlaw China, although it
was becoming more difficult as international communism was becoming increasingly fragmented
-Relations continued to be crap, and there were more border disputes, and a full-scale war was
no longer an impossibility. Nuclear rockets in the two countries now faced inwards, and the
threat of an attack from the US was no longer viewed as the main priority
SINO-SOVIET RIVALRY IN INDO-CHINA
INDOCHINA INCLUDES: Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam- together a highly important strategic area
EARLY ISSUES SURROUNDING THE AREA
-China was present in 1954 at the Geneva conference when the area was divided up again
following the defeat of France.
-ZE helped to steer the discussions to a settlement:
-The French totally withdrew
-Laos and Cambodia became independent
-Vietnam was divided up along the 17th parallel (on a supposedly temporary basis)
-China was not involved in the conflict in Vietnam, but gave Ho Chi Minh moral support
-USSR gained more from goings on in Vietnam, with the 1978 Soviet-Vietnamese Treaty of
Peace and Friendship
-When Cambodia and Vietnam went to war, the USSR supported Vietnam, and China supported
Cambodia. Vietnam won, but China still claimed a resounding success for the PLA
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