The Sino-Soviet Split in the 1950's and 1960's was an important phase in modern Chinese History, as well as the Cold War History. The seed of the Sino-Soviet Split, or the conflict between Mao Zedong and the Soviet leaders (Stalin and Khrushchev) was planted in 1927. In this year Stalin supported Chiang Kai Shek's government in the Split between Guomindang and the Chinese Communist Party. The full-scale split happened after Khrushchev succeed Stalin, and on the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party he denounced Stalin . Khrushchev adopted a peaceful coexistence policy towards the United States as well. Mao disagreed Khrushchev's act, and the split developed. The split marked its height in 1959 when the Russian experts withdraw from China. The border dispute in 1969 marked the full-scale of split.
The Sino-Soviet Split was a result of long term mistrust and suspicious between China and the Soviet. It was mainly consisted of ideological dispute (mainly appear as War of Words) and border crisis (along the Sino-Soviet borders), and was a accumulated problem. After 1980's, the split seemed to the end when China and The Soviet restored official relations . The split, which lasted for more than 20 years was so difficult to heal, since the problem was complicated and was a long term problem between the two nations. This essay is going to examine the accumulated reasons for the Sino-Soviet Split, and discuss the reasons of why it's so difficult to heal by analyzing the viewpoint of China and the Soviet Union at the end of the essay.
The underlying causes of the Sino-Soviet Split in the 1959 can be traced back as early as 1927. In this year, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) split with the Guomindang government under Chiang Kai Shek. Stalin, the Soviet leader then, surprisingly supported Chiang's government . Conflicts between Mao and Stalin began, since Stalin did not support Mao nor agree with Mao Zedong's idea that the Chinese revolution could not depend solely upon the proletariat . The clash continued, and Stalin was reluctant to recognize Mao's leadership that firmed during the Long March of 1934-35 . Worse still, in 1945 Stalin had signed the Soviet Treaty of Friendship with Chiang. The treaty allowed the Guomindang army to occupy Manchurian cities after the Japanese surrender . Tensions between CCP leaders and the Soviet increased in 1949. When the communists were able to overthrown Chiang's rule in the Mainland, the Soviet planned to declare XinJiang's independence. The Tsarist Russia has done the same thing on Outer Mongolia in 1911 . Although the Soviet's plot failed since it was without the support of Guomindang generals there, the incident announced the communist leaders in China that the Soviet was not a reliable partner. Mao, the new leader of China and his premier and foreign minister Zhou Enlai decided to seek support form the United States . However, in those times during the Cold War, the United States suspected Mao was a "puppet from Moscow" . The only power that Mao can chose for aid was the Soviet. In December 1949, Mao visited Moscow, seeking help from Stalin. Stalin ignored Mao for days until Mao threatened to leave . Followed a long, hard struggle, the Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance signed on February 14th, 1950. According to the alliance the Soviet should give a five-year loan at $300 million, and gave assistance in helping China to develop science and technology. In return, Mao had to accept the independence of Outer Mongolia, joint Sino-Soviet exploitation of mineral resources in XinJiang and gave many other concessions to the Soviet . Stalin behaved like a new "Tsar", and even Khrushchev considered his action "unwise" and "an insult to the Chinese people" .
Although the Treaty of Friendship between China and the Soviet signed, the relationship between the two nations did not improve a lot. Far as 1954, Khrushchev had already predicated that the "conflict with China is inevitable" . In 1956, after Khrushchev gained the real power in the Soviet government, he gave a speech which shocked the communist leaders in China. On the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, Khrushchev denounced Stalin's rule. He described the rule of Stalin as a "reign of terror with mass executions and purges" . He relaxed control in Russia and some criticisms of the Soviet government were permitted. Khrushchev was intended to adopt a peaceful coexistence policy towards the United States . Mao failed to understand Khrushchev's action, and ideological conflicts between the two great communist leaders have begun.
In 1958, the Camp David Talks between Khrushchev and the US President made Mao even confused. Mao failed to realize the importance of peaceful coexistence, and criticized Khrushchev was not following the road of Marxist-Leninist. He described Khrushchev as a Revisionist (a term used to describe the person that agrees with Marx's theories should be revised in view of subsequent political and economic development) . Mao believed that, as the Soviet has developed the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) and orbited a satellite, "The east wind prevails over the west wind" (Mao's speech in 1957). It was the time to start the Third World War in order to turn the world into communist . Khrushchev hesitated in starting such a full-scale world war. In 1958-60, Mao started the Great Leap Forward economic program which ended in a failure. Khrushchev publicly disapproved Mao's program, and described Mao as a "Dogmatist" (or "Sectarianism"), who denotes extreme left-wing ideas and policies and ignore the existing political situation . As a result, Mao determined to struggle for the leadership of the world revolution. He believed he had developed an "Asian" or "Chinese" Style of communism (Revolutions rely on peasants) . However, the Soviet press deliberately to limit Mao's importance. The Soviet press declared that,
"There was no 'Mao's road' or 'Mao's ideology'; the only road to be followed by Asian peoples was that pointed to by Marx-Lenin-Stalin."
Mao, of course was not happy with the Soviet Comment. What was seen outwardly as an unified communist camp controlled from Moscow was openly breaking up.
The ideological conflicts led to the great split in 1959. In this year, Khrushchev decided to withdraw all Soviet aid in China, including the unfinished A-bomb project. The Soviet Union was already worrying that China would become too strong if they have nuclear power. During the withdrawal, 1,390 Soviet experts went back to Moscow, 343 contracts concerning technical aid canceled, and 257 cooperation projects ended . The consequence was harmful to the Chinese people, and the friendship with the Soviet ended. In the Chinese People's Daily, it wrote:
"Let us rely on our own strength. If we do not have this revolutionary will, we shall forever be bullied by others."
The split between China and the Soviet began, and in 1969 the Chen Bao (or Damansky) Island dispute marked the full scale of the split. It was the border dispute between the two nations. As far as 1936, Mao told the US journalist Edgar Snow that,
"It is the immediate task of China to regain all our lost territories, including Outer Mongolia, which should become part of the Chinese Federation."
In 1964, China claimed the treaties between Tsarist Russia and the Imperial Qing were illegal and unequal. Mao claimed the Soviet to return for the 466,000 square miles of territory along the common border to China . Khrushchev refused, and negotiations were failed as well. The War of Words continued, and during 1964-1969 China claimed the Soviet has violated China's border in Ussuri River for 4,189 times . The 1972 negotiation just gave time for the two nations to mobilize army along the common borders . The border dispute marked the full-scale of the split: in the areas of ideology, border as well as foreign policies.
Today, it may be quite clear that the Sino-Soviet Split in the late 1950's and 1960's was caused by a long period accumulation of conflicts between the two nations. Both Communist China and the Soviet Union agreed with the point, but they both refused to bear the larger responsibility in causing the split . It makes the problem so difficult to heal. The split was also a complicated one. It included the conflicts in ideology, foreign policy, border dispute as well as the personal conflicts between the communist leaders. To the Soviet, their main interest was in Europe. The meaning of "world revolution", to Stalin and Khrushchev was to turn the whole Western World under communist rule. They encouraged worker uprisings, and did not agree to rely on peasants in starting revolution . Mao disagreed with them. Since the Long March period, Mao's main concern of the world revolution was the Third World. In those countries, the main force of revolution lies in presents . Thus the basic concept of communism was different from the Soviet leaders. It also influenced their attitude towards the capitalist world. Khrushchev intended to adopt a peaceful coexistence policy, as he saw little hope for communist movement to grow under the Cold War atmosphere . Mao, however believed that the only effective way to spread communism was through wars. According to him, the First World War gave chance for the Bolshevik Party to rise in Russia. The Second World War gave chance for the CCP to rise in China, and the Third World War would mean that the United States would be "liberated" by communism . The ideological clash made them not easy to seek for a common solution.
The another major area of conflict was the border dispute. The conflict was also long-rooted. The root of the conflict can be traced back as early as the Early Qing Period (17th Century). Problem concerns land and territories are difficult to settle. It included a lot of complicated problems and wars. Moreover, People's Republic of China was not a member of the United Nations in 1969. The problem therefore cannot be solved under the United Nations' regulations. Even the PRC were a member country then, it was not an easy task to please both parties on territorial problems. The clashes in Chen Bao Island can only increase the hostile between the intensified atmosphere, and made the relationship between China and the Soviet even worse.
The decision of Khrushchev that to withdraw all Soviet aid in 1959 was a great harm to China and her people, and they were not easy to "forgive" the Russians. And even the Treaty of Friendship in 1950 China has to give more than receive . The Chinese leader such as Mao and Zhou thought that they were not so important in the eyes of the Soviet leaders, as their assistants were just more than Mongolia, and were less than East Germany . As a result, the relationship between the two nations had not been improved even after the signing of the Treaty of "Friendship" in 1950 . The Soviet interferes in China's internal affairs antagonized Mao more than anything else. It included Khrushchev's disapproval of Mao's Great Leap Forward, and even encouraged Denfence Minister Peng Dehuai to oppose Mao . Besides, Stalin's reluctant to recognize Mao's status and Khrushchev disagreement with Mao on the matter of leadership in Comintern made the personal relationship between them even worse.
In conclusion, the split was a result of long term mistrust and suspicious between the Soviet leaders and the Chinese leaders, even though they blamed the others for the responsibility in causing the Split. The Soviet blamed the Chinese that it was Mao's unwilling to cooperate with the USSR in diplomatic policies caused the Split. China, on the other hand, blamed the Soviet that it was the outcome of Stalin and Khrushchev's policy which aimed at putting Beijing Government all-controlled by Moscow. Today, it is quite clear that the Split was actually the outcome of long term accumulations of mistrust between the two nations. In my viewpoint, the Soviet seemed to bear the larger responsibility in causing the Split with China. China went to a split with the Soviet was because she did not want to just follow the "order from Moscow". Mao aimed to seek for the future of China, independently form Moscow even before 1949. It was not easy to see a complete friendship between the Soviet and China, as the Tsarist Russia was one of the power exploited China in Qing period. Therefore, it was not surprising that the Chinese leader decision that China should be independent form Moscow. The mistrust between the two nations promoted from ideological conflicts to border disputes. It's so difficult to heal as it included many long-rooted historical problems such as unequal treaties, ideological conflicts as well as the historical conflicts between the two nations. The split did not heal until 1989 when Gorbachev visited China. The Soviet leader had a summit meeting with Deng Xiaoping and brought a restoration of official relations between the two nations shortly afterwards .
David Wong Wing Chung
January 1997
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