THE END OF THE COLD WAR
12.11 Sino-Soviet Relations
Nov 2010: For what reasons, and with what results, did the Sino–Soviet split influence the Cold War?
May 2011: Analyse the reasons for, and consequences of, the breakdown of Sino–Soviet relations in
the 1950s and 1960s.
May 2013: Account for the change in Sino–Soviet relations after the death of Stalin in 1953.
May 2016 TZ2: Examine the reasons for changes in Sino-Soviet relations between 1956 and 1976.
P1 - Ideological/Personality Differences
Mao/Stalin interpreted Marxism differently (eg: proletariats vs. peasant revolutions)
^ Part of the reason Stalin did not support Mao in civil war. Also:
o Stalin feared Mao as rival for leadership of the communist world
o Stalin didn’t want Cold War to spread to Asia
Mao convinced that Stalin wanted to see China disunited … so USSR could dominate Asia
Mao + Stalin personalities clashed… Mao visited USSR in 1950s, and was offended by the
poor treatment he received + Stalin’s ‘superior air’
P2 - The Sino-Soviet Treaty, 1950
Treaty spoke of ‘friendship and equality’ but Stalin had implemented harsh terms:
o $300 million Soviet advance was a loan, not a gift. PRC had to repay w/ high interest
o 10,000 military/economic advisers USSR sent to China had to be paid for by PRC
Mao’s resentment made the Sino-Soviet treaty very tense
Tension intensified by Korean War → as US/UN troops approached Yalu river, Stalin
persuaded Mao to join … but Stalin himself DIDN’T get involved in Korea
P3 - Khruschev & De-Stalinization
Stalin died in 1953 … Mao thought USSR + PRC relations wd/ ease
o ‘Honeymoon period’ → Khrushchev willing to supply further loans/tech to China
But... Feb 1956, Nikita Khrushchev launched an attack on Stalin
He accused Stalin of engaging in a ‘cult of personality’
o Mao angry, saw it as an implied criticism of his own style of leadership in China
o Mao feared that de-stalinization would undermine his authority in China
To Mao, Hungarian uprising was a sign of Weak Soviet control
Khrushchev's ‘peaceful coexistence’ doctrine, saying that Capitalism/Communism could co-
exist = ideological ‘hearsay’ … thought Detente was done to purposefully isolate China
Mao argued USSR was weak, and filled with ‘revisionists’
Geneva summit + Austrian State Treaty 1955 strengthened Mao’s view
Moscow also abandoned notion of inevitable final violent conflict between Intl. proletariat +
forces of capitalism … Mao believed the ‘final struggle’ was unavoidable
1957, Khrushchev worried about discontent amongst Marxist populations
o Khrushchev called a conference: Conference of Communist Parties, 1957
o Mao attended + declared that Moscow approach to West = not good
Mao + PRC began to see themselves as ‘true’ leaders of communist world
Khrushchev attempted to ease tensions, visited China 1958
o Meeting went poorly… Mao made him purposefully feel uncomfortable
o Deng attacked Soviet Policy once again… said they weren’t true ‘Marxist-Leninists’
P4 - Taiwan, 1958
PRC mad about US support for GMD’s Taiwan
PRC had bombed islands off Taiwan in early 50… US placed a fleet in the Taiwan straits
1958, Mao wanted to test USA’s resolve to protect Taiwan… gave impression that China was
about to launch an invasion on Taiwan → US response = prepare for war w/ PRC
Khrushchev accused Mao of being ‘Trotskyist’ (pursuing intl. revolution at any cost)
Taiwan crisis strained Sino-Soviet relations… USSR withdrew econ advisors from PRC +
ended commercial contracts
P5 - Great Leap Forward 1958-62 & Cultural Revolution, 1966-76
Moscow’s view of Great Leap forward (Jan 1958) = ‘a total blunder’ → Mao insulted
, Mutual distrust peaked in 1961 - Chinese delegate walked out of Moscow congress, claiming
Khrushchev had deliberately insulted China in a speech
Personal insults between Khrushchev + Mao began to increase after this → Khrushchev
called Mao, ‘Asian Hitler’ & Mao called Khrushchev, ‘a redundant old boot’
Mao’s Cultural rev launched 1966 → Soviets denounced Cultural revolution as ‘total
fanaticism’ + criticized Mao for taking PRC into a state of anarchy
P6 - Albania 1961 & Sino-Indian War 1962
China got opp. to attack USSR in 1961, when USSR withdrew aid to Albania
o Mao saw this as an attack on the Chinese Communist system
o PRC offered to replace aid that Soviet’s had withdrew … increased tensions
Mao also angry at USSR response to Sino-Indian war:
USSR remained neutral, but supplied India w/ fighter planes + diplomatic support
P7 - Mao’s Response to the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile crisis allowed Mao to ridicule USSR as ‘leader of the world revolution’
In the Western world … leaders congratulated Khrushchev + Kennedy for solving the conflict
diplomatically … Mao did not share this view
Soviet reply: “We too want socialism, but we want to win it through the class struggle, not by
unleashing a world thermonuclear war’
Key Question: Who was the TRUE leader of the communist world?
P8 - The Nuclear Issue
Controversy over whether coexistence was compatible w/ Marxism-Leninism reached its peak
during the dispute over the Test Ban Treaty of 1963
o Test Ban Treaty = agreement between USSR/Western Nuclear powers to end
atmospheric testing of atomic weapons
Mao saw this treaty as a betrayal by USSR
Deteriorating Sino-Soviet relations lead to USSR withdrawing scientists from China in 1959
o This did not greatly hinder China, as they developed nuclear capacity in 1964
1967 - PRC produced its first hydrogen bomb (Named this bomb the ‘59/6’,
referring to the date USSR had withdrew its technicians)
China’s emergence as nuclear power frightened the world
P9 - Mao and Brezhnev
1964-1982 → Brezhnev in power … he was a Stalinist hardliner, believed the USSR had right
to impose control over all communist countries, eg: invaded CZ 1968/Prague Spring
o Invasion undermined USSR's position w/ other communists
o Mao condemned use of force (against true socialism, and scared that USSR would
use force vs. China)
1969, Brezhnev called Intl. Communist conference in Moscow… relations soured
PRC + USSR repositioned their nuclear-armed rockets so that they faced each other …
rather than towards their capitalist enemies
P10 - The PRC, USSR, and Indochina
During Indochina/Vietnam, USSR/PRC struggled to win communists to ‘their’ side
o PRC accused USSR of being in League w/ USA
o USSR won… as they steadily aided South Vietnam
Having lost influence in Vietnam to USSR, PRC attempted to form close ties w/ Cambodia
o Cambodia communist in 1975 under Pol Pot Khmer Rouge regime
o Pol Pot’s regime modelled on ‘Maoism’ → Between 1975-79, Brutality of Pol Pot
exceeded that of cultural rev… bad for Mao’s rep
P11 - Sino-Soviet Rapprochement
Reasons for Rapprochement:
o Mao’s death 1976 + Overthrow of anti-Soviet gang of Four in China
o New PRC leader, Deng Xiaoping (more tolerant towards USSR/West)
o Leonid Brezhnev’s death 1982
12.11 Sino-Soviet Relations
Nov 2010: For what reasons, and with what results, did the Sino–Soviet split influence the Cold War?
May 2011: Analyse the reasons for, and consequences of, the breakdown of Sino–Soviet relations in
the 1950s and 1960s.
May 2013: Account for the change in Sino–Soviet relations after the death of Stalin in 1953.
May 2016 TZ2: Examine the reasons for changes in Sino-Soviet relations between 1956 and 1976.
P1 - Ideological/Personality Differences
Mao/Stalin interpreted Marxism differently (eg: proletariats vs. peasant revolutions)
^ Part of the reason Stalin did not support Mao in civil war. Also:
o Stalin feared Mao as rival for leadership of the communist world
o Stalin didn’t want Cold War to spread to Asia
Mao convinced that Stalin wanted to see China disunited … so USSR could dominate Asia
Mao + Stalin personalities clashed… Mao visited USSR in 1950s, and was offended by the
poor treatment he received + Stalin’s ‘superior air’
P2 - The Sino-Soviet Treaty, 1950
Treaty spoke of ‘friendship and equality’ but Stalin had implemented harsh terms:
o $300 million Soviet advance was a loan, not a gift. PRC had to repay w/ high interest
o 10,000 military/economic advisers USSR sent to China had to be paid for by PRC
Mao’s resentment made the Sino-Soviet treaty very tense
Tension intensified by Korean War → as US/UN troops approached Yalu river, Stalin
persuaded Mao to join … but Stalin himself DIDN’T get involved in Korea
P3 - Khruschev & De-Stalinization
Stalin died in 1953 … Mao thought USSR + PRC relations wd/ ease
o ‘Honeymoon period’ → Khrushchev willing to supply further loans/tech to China
But... Feb 1956, Nikita Khrushchev launched an attack on Stalin
He accused Stalin of engaging in a ‘cult of personality’
o Mao angry, saw it as an implied criticism of his own style of leadership in China
o Mao feared that de-stalinization would undermine his authority in China
To Mao, Hungarian uprising was a sign of Weak Soviet control
Khrushchev's ‘peaceful coexistence’ doctrine, saying that Capitalism/Communism could co-
exist = ideological ‘hearsay’ … thought Detente was done to purposefully isolate China
Mao argued USSR was weak, and filled with ‘revisionists’
Geneva summit + Austrian State Treaty 1955 strengthened Mao’s view
Moscow also abandoned notion of inevitable final violent conflict between Intl. proletariat +
forces of capitalism … Mao believed the ‘final struggle’ was unavoidable
1957, Khrushchev worried about discontent amongst Marxist populations
o Khrushchev called a conference: Conference of Communist Parties, 1957
o Mao attended + declared that Moscow approach to West = not good
Mao + PRC began to see themselves as ‘true’ leaders of communist world
Khrushchev attempted to ease tensions, visited China 1958
o Meeting went poorly… Mao made him purposefully feel uncomfortable
o Deng attacked Soviet Policy once again… said they weren’t true ‘Marxist-Leninists’
P4 - Taiwan, 1958
PRC mad about US support for GMD’s Taiwan
PRC had bombed islands off Taiwan in early 50… US placed a fleet in the Taiwan straits
1958, Mao wanted to test USA’s resolve to protect Taiwan… gave impression that China was
about to launch an invasion on Taiwan → US response = prepare for war w/ PRC
Khrushchev accused Mao of being ‘Trotskyist’ (pursuing intl. revolution at any cost)
Taiwan crisis strained Sino-Soviet relations… USSR withdrew econ advisors from PRC +
ended commercial contracts
P5 - Great Leap Forward 1958-62 & Cultural Revolution, 1966-76
Moscow’s view of Great Leap forward (Jan 1958) = ‘a total blunder’ → Mao insulted
, Mutual distrust peaked in 1961 - Chinese delegate walked out of Moscow congress, claiming
Khrushchev had deliberately insulted China in a speech
Personal insults between Khrushchev + Mao began to increase after this → Khrushchev
called Mao, ‘Asian Hitler’ & Mao called Khrushchev, ‘a redundant old boot’
Mao’s Cultural rev launched 1966 → Soviets denounced Cultural revolution as ‘total
fanaticism’ + criticized Mao for taking PRC into a state of anarchy
P6 - Albania 1961 & Sino-Indian War 1962
China got opp. to attack USSR in 1961, when USSR withdrew aid to Albania
o Mao saw this as an attack on the Chinese Communist system
o PRC offered to replace aid that Soviet’s had withdrew … increased tensions
Mao also angry at USSR response to Sino-Indian war:
USSR remained neutral, but supplied India w/ fighter planes + diplomatic support
P7 - Mao’s Response to the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile crisis allowed Mao to ridicule USSR as ‘leader of the world revolution’
In the Western world … leaders congratulated Khrushchev + Kennedy for solving the conflict
diplomatically … Mao did not share this view
Soviet reply: “We too want socialism, but we want to win it through the class struggle, not by
unleashing a world thermonuclear war’
Key Question: Who was the TRUE leader of the communist world?
P8 - The Nuclear Issue
Controversy over whether coexistence was compatible w/ Marxism-Leninism reached its peak
during the dispute over the Test Ban Treaty of 1963
o Test Ban Treaty = agreement between USSR/Western Nuclear powers to end
atmospheric testing of atomic weapons
Mao saw this treaty as a betrayal by USSR
Deteriorating Sino-Soviet relations lead to USSR withdrawing scientists from China in 1959
o This did not greatly hinder China, as they developed nuclear capacity in 1964
1967 - PRC produced its first hydrogen bomb (Named this bomb the ‘59/6’,
referring to the date USSR had withdrew its technicians)
China’s emergence as nuclear power frightened the world
P9 - Mao and Brezhnev
1964-1982 → Brezhnev in power … he was a Stalinist hardliner, believed the USSR had right
to impose control over all communist countries, eg: invaded CZ 1968/Prague Spring
o Invasion undermined USSR's position w/ other communists
o Mao condemned use of force (against true socialism, and scared that USSR would
use force vs. China)
1969, Brezhnev called Intl. Communist conference in Moscow… relations soured
PRC + USSR repositioned their nuclear-armed rockets so that they faced each other …
rather than towards their capitalist enemies
P10 - The PRC, USSR, and Indochina
During Indochina/Vietnam, USSR/PRC struggled to win communists to ‘their’ side
o PRC accused USSR of being in League w/ USA
o USSR won… as they steadily aided South Vietnam
Having lost influence in Vietnam to USSR, PRC attempted to form close ties w/ Cambodia
o Cambodia communist in 1975 under Pol Pot Khmer Rouge regime
o Pol Pot’s regime modelled on ‘Maoism’ → Between 1975-79, Brutality of Pol Pot
exceeded that of cultural rev… bad for Mao’s rep
P11 - Sino-Soviet Rapprochement
Reasons for Rapprochement:
o Mao’s death 1976 + Overthrow of anti-Soviet gang of Four in China
o New PRC leader, Deng Xiaoping (more tolerant towards USSR/West)
o Leonid Brezhnev’s death 1982
