Sino-Soviet Relations 1949-1976

People's Republic of Chine (1949)

• the USSR first state to recognise the PRC, and signed a Treaty of Friendship with Mao
• the US were terrified that Communism had triumphed in China

Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance (February 1950)

• the PRC needed idealogical support, and USSR needed economic support following WW2
• Friendship: loan of $300mil and equipment for 50 major construction projects given to PRC
• Alliance: military alliance against 'Japanese militarism', which guaranteed military help against any capitalist conflict
• Mutual assistance: joint stock company set up to mine in Xingjiang, USSR experts helped set up and run 141 PRC business enterprises, USSR returned Manchurian railway to PRC
• all of the policies allowed PRC to begin economic modernisation

Creation of the 'China Lobby' in the US

• US politicians believed Truman hadn't done enough to secure a pro-Western China
• military/financial support for the Western Taiwan, Phillipines, South Korea, French in Vietnam and NSC-68 followed

Stalin's aims for the Korean War

• wanted PRC to do most of the fighting so USSR soldiers didn't meet with UN soldiers and risk nuclear attack
• didn't want to be forced to fight in Korea under the terms of the Treaty of Friendship
• didn't want to give military aid to PRC due it being expensive
• wanted to consolidate communist control of Korea so US couldn't try and take control

Korean War and its significance on Sino-Soviet relations (1950)

• UN troops were held off by PRC, and ended after 3 years with the reassertion of communist and capitalist Korean nations
• the cost of war reinforced PRC's dependence on USSR, and turned to them for aid
• proved PRC's worth as an ally, and trade and technology increased in PRC as a reward
• for the USA it demonstrated the potential power of a Sino-Soviet alliance

Confrontation over Taiwan

• There was dispute between the independent Taiwan w/US backing and a PRC controlled Taiwan with backing from the USSR

The Great Leap Forward (1958)

• rejection of the USSR model of economic development, based on the enthusiasm of peasants instead of the role of expertise and the working class in developing the economy
• Mao believed Khrushchev was not a real revolutionary, and so distanced himself while undermining his leadership of the communist world

PRC's national and military interests (1958)

• Khrushchev propose joint Sino-Soviet control over the PRC's nuclear programme but Mao believed this to be patronising
• Mao and the PRC began trying to take Taiwan again, but Khrushchev refused to support them

Personality conflict

• during Khrushchev's first visit to PRC, Mao set out to humiliate him, creating a photo opportunity at a swimming pool, knowing Khrushchev couldn't swim

Personal differences and political rivalries

• Mao snubbed Khrushchev in public on his 2nd visit to PRC, beat the USSR to the top of Mount Everest and published Khrushchev's backdown over the Cuban Missile Crisis
• Khrushchev withdrew Soviet experts who were helping with the Great Leap Forward

Idealogical division

• Khrushchev publicly criticised the Great Leap Forward and introduced new doctrines supporting all Russians, not just working classes
• Mao called Khrushchev a revisionist and described his communism as 'phoney'

Strategic and military issues

• Khrushchev backed India in the Sino-Indian border conflict (1962) and Indonesia in the Sino-Indonesian disputes (1959-1962)
• Khrushchev was dismayed at PRC's first successful nuclear weapons test (1964)

Relations after Khrushchev (1964)

• the new USSR leader, Brezhnev, wanted to establish a working relationship with Mao
• Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, which criticised the USA and USSR as bureaucrats
• March 1966 USSR and PRC ended diplomatic and trading relations

Full-scale confrontation (1968-1969)

• conflict between Red Guards and Soviet soldiers on the Sino-Soviet border
• small-scale fighting on the independent island of Zhen Bao following occupation by Red Guards

Significance of the Sino-Soviet split for superpower relations

• weakened the USSR, thus providing an opportunity for the US
• indicated there were differences in interpretations of applying communism
• Nixon considered developing a Sino-US relationship to exploit the difficulties between the PRC and the USSR

Motives for Sino-US rapproachment

• PRC motives: worries about a pre-emptive USSR nuclear strike, lack of allies, expansion of Chinese borders
• US motives: wanted PRC to put pressure on Viet Cong to negotiate peace, wanted to put pressure on the USSR, a new strategic alliance, didn't want PRC to become a Soviet sattelite state, wanted to focus US' entire nuclear capability on USSR

Events in 'ping-pong' diplomacy

• (July '69) Nixon relaxed trade and travel restrictions with PRC and initiated secret talks with Mao through Pakistan, US recognised PRC
• (April '71) Mao invited US ping-pong team to play an international match in PRC
• (July '71) Kissinger, Nixon's security advisor, visited PRC to arrange a Presidential visit
• (October '71) US backed the PRC's entry into the UN

Triangular Diplomacy - continued by President Ford after Nixon's resignation

• wanted a three-way relationship between the US, USSR and PRC
• anticipation that the USSR would be worried by a potential Sino-US alliance and so would maintain friendly relations with the US
• reasoned that an independent PRC was better for the US than a Soviet satellite

Nixon's Trip to the PRC (1972)

• Mao and Nixon established a good working relationship, and acknowledged disagreements over Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan, made a relationship based on peaceful co-existence, hoped to form formal diplomatic links by 1976, pledged to work together to resist any country attempting invasion in South-East Asia (i.e. USSR), and tried to increase trade
• this caused great anxiety for USSR, but Nixon's 'Triangular Diplomacy' brought the most successful US-USSR summit of the Cold War

Sino-US relations after Nixon

• No agreements were made due to Ford's weaker position for diplomacy due to his unpopularity with the US public