China, US, USSR

1
China, US, USSR

• Split, Rapprochement, Detente

2
Sino-Soviet relations through Chinese eyes

• DeStalinization seen as an attack on Maos style
• Hungary Poland in the 1950s failure to
  contain reactionary forces
• Peaceful coexistence is ideological heresy (armed
  struggle is the only way)
• Mao sees Khrushchev as a revisionist (not a real
  Marxist)

• more than three years after he started pushing
  Maoism on the world stage.Mao gave the order to
  denounce Khrushchev by name as a revisionist.
  A public slanging match quickly escalated. For
  Mao, the polemic acted as a sort of international
  advertsing campaign for Maoism
• --Jung Chang and Jon Halliday, Mao The Unknown
  Story (2005)

3
Sino-Soviet Interactions

• Mao calls on USSR to abandon revisionism _at_
  Conference of Communist Parties, 1957
• Mao believes Khr is initiating détente w/ West to
  isolate China
• Khr visits Beijing 1958 unproductive.
• Chinese accuse USSR of betraying Marxism and
  sending spies to China

4
Khrushchev betrays Mao in Taiwan 1958

• Mao builds up troops near Taiwan fires on US
  ships
• US also prepares sends Navy into Formosa straits
• Khr says not prepared for war w/ US wont back
  up China
• Mao feels betrayed, USSR sees Mao as not
  recognizing reality of international situation -
  fanatical

5
The Great Leap Forward 1958-61

• Program for economic growth grow industrial and
  ag sectors quickly
• Two key areas Grain Steel (I.e. backyard
  furnaces)
• Public works programs started
• Generally unsuccessful ended in economic
  disaster
• 14 million die from famine officially (West
  estimated 30 mil)
• Some blame disastrous weather 58-62, but also
  result of program
• USSR denounces the GLF publicly Mao is enraged

6
Sino-Indian War 1962

• China didnt recognize Sino-Indian border (from
  colonial period)
• US U-2 planes able to take pics of Chinese nukes
  India leans west
• USSR officially neutral, but gave India MIG
  fighters China angered

7
Cuban Missile Crisis

• Mao attacked
• The placement of detectable missiles in the first
  place
• Backing down
• The negative impact it would have on the struggle
  against US imperialism

8
Chinese Cultural Revolution

• 1966-69
• Maos attempt to prevent the creeping return of
  liberal, anti-communist thought
• Wants to reignite revolutionary struggle
• The young were mobilized to re-educate the
  elders, teachers, etc.
• old thought was attacked at all levels
• USSR kept at bay as revisionist USSR
  continues to criticize China

9
Enter Brezhnev 1968

• No improvement
• Brezhnev is more Stalinist than Khrushchev
• Sino-Soviet Border War 1969
• Seen as low point because
• Threatens to become full scale war
• Both realigned missiles to face one another
• Increase rivalry to be top dog of comm. nations.

10
USSR, China, Nukes

• Mao believes nuclear war is most likely part of
  revolutionary struggle
• Conflicts w/ peaceful coexistence
• USSR will only help China develop nukes if USSR
  has control over its nuclear policy
• Sino-Soviet tension increases over Nuclear Test
  Ban Treaty of 1963
• 1964 China develops and detonates its own A-Bomb

China We want our own program! If you are our
friend youll let us have it!
USSR As you are our friend, you dont need your
own, well protect you!
11
All in All

• Sino-Soviet tensions lasted from mid 1950s to
  late 1970s
• US tries to use this to create triangular
  diplomacy and play them off of each other
• Both fear the other will get cozy with the West.
• How does this impact international relations
  between the US and China and the US and the USSR?