1530930 1
NYMISHA YADATI
CHINA – USSR RELATIONS UNDER MAO.
Post world war an entire new dynamics of foreign or international
relations emerged. So did happen with China under Mao Ze Dong. In
October 1949, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) replaced the
Republic of China (ROC) after the Chinese Communists won a
nationwide victory in the civil war and drove the Nationalist government
to Taiwan. China extended the Cold War to East Asia.
In June 1949 Mao Zedong announced that New China would support the
Soviet Union in international affairs. As a result the then Truman
government decided to follow the policy of non recognition. USA in the
China Taiwan civil war had taken the Nationalist party side in Taiwan. It
still continued and this was seen as a threat to the communist party in
China. Hence to balance the power China strengthened its association
with USSR. Chinese and Soviet leaders signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of
Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance on February 14, 1950.
1530930 2
NYMISHA YADATI
The alliance provided military agreement which stated that in case of
attack from USA or Japan on either country they would collectively
fight the threat. Despite the collaboration there were signs of strain
between Moscow and Beijing. Mao’s in visit to Russia felt that Stalin
treated him as an underling rather than an important partner.
However, China was dissatisfied with the Sino-Soviet security
relationship. It thought that Moscow showed less interest in recovery of
Taiwan. China was also upset with Soviet neutrality during the 1959
tension on the Sino Indian border. In an attempt to break away from the
Soviet model of economic development, China launched he Great Leap
Forward. This led Moscow to withdraw all Soviet advisers from China
in 1960.
June 1950 Korean War further destabilized the US China relations.
China entered the Korean War in October 1950. US saw this as a major
threat. In this situation USSR provided air support, military supplies and
economic aid. US reacted by strengthening its economic embargo on
China. It also blocked China’s membership in the UN. This hostility
continued in cold war as well.
1530930 3
NYMISHA YADATI
When Stalin died in 1953, Mao began to see himself as the world’s
senior communist leader. Leadership of the Soviet Union passed to
Nikita Khrushchev. Mao considered Khrushchev as betrayal to Stalin’s
legacy. The CCP responded by developing its own interpretation of
Stalin and his leadership, which was articulated in the People’s Daily on
April 5th 1956.
In the 1950s, the Sino-Soviet relations were peaceful. China also
considered it as its top priority. The contacts were regular and
negotiations between the top leaders were frequent. But in the second
half of the 1950s, the Chinese Communist Party disagreed with the
Soviets. The Chinese pointed the issue of de-Stalinization under
Khrushchev. By the 1960s, the Sino-Soviet dispute spread to ideological
differences. Hence the Sino-Soviet alliance collapsed.
The Sino–Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between
the China and USSR during the Cold War (1945–91). Since 1956, the
countries had (secretly) been diverging ideologically. By 1961, the
Chinese Communists blamed the USSR as “The Revisionist Traitor
Group of Soviet Leadership.” In the Cuban Missile Crisis, Mao accused
Khrushchev of cowardice; in return Khrushchev accused Mao of
pushing for nuclear war. In the 1960s, this divergence became acute and
it continued till late 1980s. Mao Zedong, at this point had to build
alliance with US to balance the power. China wanted to create a channel
1530930 4
NYMISHA YADATI
to channel to Washington. Although no official diplomatic relations
existed between the two countries at that time, the Warsaw talks proved
useful in building the relations between China and the U.S.
At this point China also tried to build its relation with the third world
countries. This increased competition between China and Russia to
influence in the Third World countries. Also China accused the Soviet
Union of supporting with imperialism, for example by signing the Partial
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with the United States in 1963.
The threat from the Soviet Union pushed Mao Zedong to improve
relations with the United States in early 1970s. Nixon’s met the Chinese
leaders in February 1972. The major idea behind this diplomacy was to
balance the common threat from the US. The motive was to balance
power as both feared USSR threat.
To conclude it can be said that Sino-Soviet relations began with the
Russian Revolution of 1917, the formation of the Soviet Union and the
Moscow Comintern, which provided support and direction for the
fledgling CCP. In late 1949 Mao visited Stalin in Moscow. While Mao
felt undervalued and disregarded by Stalin, the two leaders signed an
important treaty and military alliance. In public Mao and CCP
propaganda hailed Stalin as a visionary leader of world socialism,
however Mao felt betrayed by Stalin’s lack of support and involvement
during the Korean War. In 1956 Nikita Khrushchev denounced the
1530930 5
NYMISHA YADATI
brutality that occurred under Stalin’s leadership. This condemnation of
Stalin placed Mao in an awkward position and forced the CCP to
reevaluate its position on Stalin. Sino-Soviet relations continued to
worsen from 1957, driven by ideological divisions, different attitudes to
the West, provocative and hostile remarks, failed talks between Mao and
Khrushchev, and border disputes that led to a brief conflict in 1969.
With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the ideological rivalry tonned
down. In July 2001, the old Treaty of Freindship (expired 1979) was
finally replaced by the similarly-named Treaty of Good-Neighborliness
and Friendship. Now China and Russia are part of BRIC, a group of
countries with rapidly growing economies that may challenge the
supremacy of the current richest countries.
