Sino-Soviet Relations
Timeline
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1949 Communist revolution in China
1950 Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance signed between USSR and
China
1950-53 The Korea War
1953 Death of Stalin
1954 Khrushchev’s first visit to Beijing
1956 Khrushchev’s speech to 3rd Party Congress, talks of ‘de-stalinisation
Hungarian Uprising
1958 Great Leap Forward launched- Khrushchev highly critical
1960 USSR retracts all economic aid from China
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis- Mao criticises USSR’s capitulation and refuses to sign Test
Ban
1964 A-bomb tested by China
Khrushchev dismissed as Soviet leader
1966 Cultural Revolution in China- Mao accuses the Soviets of being ‘revisionist’
1967 China test H-bomb
1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia- USSR seen as losing by China
1968 Sino-Indian Border War; Soviets supplied India with MIG fighters- Mao accuses them
of
being hypocrites
1969 Ussuri River Dispute
1970 China’s first space satellite
Soviet prime minister visits China
1971 Sino-USA talks begin
China accepted into the UN
1971 Kissinger visits China ‘Ping-Pong’ diplomacy ensues and Sino-Soviet relations
deteriorate
KEY EXAM QUESTIONS:
1. KEY CAUSES OF SINO-SOVIET SPLIT.
2. IMPACT OF SPLIT ON COLD WAR DIPLOMACY.
3. IMPACT OF SINO-US RAPPROCHEMENT ON
COLD WAR DIPLOMACY.
Sino-Soviet Pact
• In 1950, the Sino-Soviet pact - “The Treaty of friendship,
alliance and mutual assistance” was signed between
Mao and Stalin.
• It promised: Economic aid and Military aid
• The Soviets also promised to restore Chinese
sovereignty over Manchuria and its railways.
• However, The USSR refused to reduce its interference
with Mongolia which China considered to be within its
own sphere of influence.
• The USSR continually refused to allow China to increase
its influence in North Korea.
• They also refused to support China’s desire to obtain
Taiwan.
Causes of Split
• Ideological differences:
Although both countries were communist, the ideologies between Mao and Stalin were very
different;
Russia’s Revolution was led by urban industrial workers, whereas China’s was led by rural
peasants
Khrushchev who pursued a policy of ‘peaceful co-existence’ with the USA and Mao saw this as
‘revisionist’.
Khrushchev pursued a policy of reconciliation with Yugoslavia, who had previously refused to
put Stalin’s policies into practice in 1948. Mao, again, saw this as ideological revisionism.
At the twentieth congress in 1956, Khrushchev gave a speech on ‘de-Stalinisation’ which
angered Mao because China’s domestic policies were largely based on Stalin’s domestic
policies.
The Great Leap forward and subsequent famine was criticised by the USSR.
In 1968 Mao launched the Cultural Revolution to expel revisionists from China. This was
criticised by Brezhnev.
• Role of Personality:
Mao’s vision of world communism ended with Stalin’s self interested perception of communism,
‘Stalinism.’ The Korean War highlighted this when Stalin prolonged the war on purpose and
demanded repayment from China for military aid.
In 1953 Stalin died; he was replaced by Khrushchev who pursued a policy of ‘peaceful coexistence’ with the USA and Mao saw this as ‘revisionist’.
Because Khrushchev was new and not a true communist according to Mao, Mao exchanged his
role of second in command to the USSR and became the apparent ‘superior leader of world
communism’.
Causes of Split
• Conflicting National Interests
The USSR refused to reduce its interference with Mongolia which China considered to be
within its own sphere of influence.
The USSR continually refused to allow China to increase its influence in North Korea.
They also refused to support China’s desire to obtain Taiwan.
The Korean War highlighted Stalin’s self interest as he prolonged the war on purpose and
demanded repayment from China for military aid.
In 1960 the Soviets withdrew scientists working on nuclear programmes in China.
As a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, China refused to sign the Test Ban
Treaty, and developed nuclear technology solo.
The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 was criticised by Mao as a sign of the
USSR losing control of their sphere of influence.
There was a long history of Sino-Soviet border disputes, for example, the Ussuri River
Dispute of 1969.
That same year, the USSR provided MIG fighters for India during the Sino-Indian War.
In the Brezhnev Doctrine of 1968, the policy of intervention in the USSR sphere of
influence was repeated. China perceived this showed the USSR was losing its grip on its
‘sphere of influence’.