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The Sino-Soviet Split was an important point in the Cold War whereby China and the USSR accused each other of being completely fake Communists. Thus they both threw a bit of a fit and refused to talk to each other anymore until the USSR died. Does anyone even read these?

Sources:

The Role of Foreign Affairs in the Fall of Nikita Khrushchev in October 1964 by  Paul Du Quenoy

Mao and China's Relations with the Superpowers in the 1950s: A New Look at the Taiwan Strait Crises and the Sino-Soviet Split by Michael M. Sheng

Competing for Leadership: Split or Détente in the Sino-Soviet Bloc, 1959-1961 by Danhui Li and Yafeng Xia

When most people think about the Cold War, they think about 2 ideological factions vying for global supremacy.

What isn't often talked about is the infighting which occurred in both camps.

The most important of these conflicts was the Sino-Soviet split, which saw the People's Republic of China denounce the USSR and go its own way.

So what caused the split and what long-term effects did it have?

Prior to the Second World War, China was embroiled in a civil war which saw the communists fighting against the Chinese Republic.

This conflict was halted when the Japanese invaded and both sides allied against the foreign threat, which was due in part to a great deal of pressure from a certain Joseph Stalin.

The Japanese lost and by the time of their surrender, China looked like this, with the USSR occupying Manchuria, which it promptly handed over to the communists and their leader Mao Zedong.

The civil war resumed and in the end, the communists won, giving the USSR a new powerful ally.

Both sides signed a friendship treaty in 1950 and so things were looking up for both of them.

Also, unlike the communist states in Eastern Europe, China was an independent nation and Moscow couldn't appoint or dismiss its leaders nor control its internal policy.

Since it was independent, this led to the Chinese leadership applying the communist model in a fundamentally different way to the USSR.

Stalinism and Maoism were rapidly diverging and this difference became even more pronounced when Stalin died and was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev.

The divisions between the 2 communist states spanned both internal and external policies.

In terms of internal policy, the USSR disagreed with Mao's great leap forward and its implementation.

Mao's approach to change saw the Chinese government hastily reform agriculture and demand that it output unreasonable amounts.

These policies exacerbated a major drought which hit China between 1959 and 1961, which saw the deaths of at least 15 million people.

To make matters worse, Mao also opted to continue with the policy of exporting grain because he wanted China to look like it was a wealthy, well-fed country.

Furthermore, Mao disliked the reforms undertaken by Nikita Khrushchev, which he felt were fundamentally uncommunist.

Mao also saw Khrushchev's use of the Red Army to put down the 1956 Hungarian Revolution as delegitimizing communism internationally, which brings us onto conflicts over foreign policy.

Khrushchev had taken a different approach to the USSR's relationship with the West and had pursued a policy of peaceful coexistence.

When a series of foreign policy clashes between the USSR and the USA ended with Khrushchev backing down, Mao decided that communism needed a new leader, 1 who would confront the West on all fronts at every opportunity.

Whilst these may sound like issues which could have been papered over, for Mao and Khrushchev ideological purity was a matter of life or death for communism.

In the end, these disagreements led to the USSR formally breaking off diplomatic relations with the PRC in late 1961.

In mid-1962, Mao opted to break off relations with the USSR and hereafter the communist world was fractured and would remain so.

During the Cold War, China never managed to take leadership of the communist world, but it did have some communist states which opted to follow the principles of Maoism.

And whilst the division of the communist states of the world was overwhelmingly in favor of the Soviet Union, it did present it with new difficulties.

The 1960s saw China embrace a much more aggressive foreign policy, which saw it develop its own nuclear weapons and also fight border conflicts with Taiwan, India and also the USSR.

Although in the end, Mao switched from an ideological foreign policy to a pragmatic 1, which saw him restore and even improve relations with the US and the West.

The People's Republic of China hereafter pursued its own goals, and given that it outlasted the USSR, the Sino-Soviet split didn't seem to negatively affect it too much.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and thank you for watching, with extra thanks to my Patreon supporters which you can see on screen.

Checke, Anthony Beckett, Ike, Sky Chappell and Winston Cawood.


Speaker 0: When most people think about the Cold War, they think about 2 ideological factions vying for global supremacy. What isn't often talked about is the infighting which occurred in both camps. The most important of these conflicts was the Sino-Soviet split, which saw the People's Republic of China denounce the USSR and go its own way. So what caused the split and what long-term effects did it have? Prior to the Second World War, China was embroiled in a civil war which saw the communists fighting against the Chinese Republic.

This conflict was halted when the Japanese invaded and both sides allied against the foreign threat, which was due in part to a great deal of pressure from a certain Joseph Stalin. The Japanese lost and by the time of their surrender, China looked like this, with the USSR occupying Manchuria, which it promptly handed over to the communists and their leader Mao Zedong. The civil war resumed and in the end, the communists won, giving the USSR a new powerful ally. Both sides signed a friendship treaty in 1950 and so things were looking up for both of them. Also, unlike the communist states in Eastern Europe, China was an independent nation and Moscow couldn't appoint or dismiss its leaders nor control its internal policy.

Since it was independent, this led to the Chinese leadership applying the communist model in a fundamentally different way to the USSR. Stalinism and Maoism were rapidly diverging and this difference became even more pronounced when Stalin died and was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev. The divisions between the 2 communist states spanned both internal and external policies. In terms of internal policy, the USSR disagreed with Mao's great leap forward and its implementation. Mao's approach to change saw the Chinese government hastily reform agriculture and demand that it output unreasonable amounts.

These policies exacerbated a major drought which hit China between 1959 and 1961, which saw the deaths of at least 15 million people. To make matters worse, Mao also opted to continue with the policy of exporting grain because he wanted China to look like it was a wealthy, well-fed country. Furthermore, Mao disliked the reforms undertaken by Nikita Khrushchev, which he felt were fundamentally uncommunist. Mao also saw Khrushchev's use of the Red Army to put down the 1956 Hungarian Revolution as delegitimizing communism internationally, which brings us onto conflicts over foreign policy. Khrushchev had taken a different approach to the USSR's relationship with the West and had pursued a policy of peaceful coexistence.

When a series of foreign policy clashes between the USSR and the USA ended with Khrushchev backing down, Mao decided that communism needed a new leader, 1 who would confront the West on all fronts at every opportunity. Whilst these may sound like issues which could have been papered over, for Mao and Khrushchev ideological purity was a matter of life or death for communism. In the end, these disagreements led to the USSR formally breaking off diplomatic relations with the PRC in late 1961. In mid-1962, Mao opted to break off relations with the USSR and hereafter the communist world was fractured and would remain so. During the Cold War, China never managed to take leadership of the communist world, but it did have some communist states which opted to follow the principles of Maoism.

And whilst the division of the communist states of the world was overwhelmingly in favor of the Soviet Union, it did present it with new difficulties. The 1960s saw China embrace a much more aggressive foreign policy, which saw it develop its own nuclear weapons and also fight border conflicts with Taiwan, India and also the USSR. Although in the end, Mao switched from an ideological foreign policy to a pragmatic 1, which saw him restore and even improve relations with the US and the West. The People's Republic of China hereafter pursued its own goals, and given that it outlasted the USSR, the Sino-Soviet split didn't seem to negatively affect it too much. I hope you enjoyed this episode and thank you for watching, with extra thanks to my Patreon supporters which you can see on screen.

And with an extra special thanks to... Checke, Anthony Beckett, Ike, Sky Chappell and Winston Cawood.

See all History Matters transcripts on Youtube

The Sino Soviet Split: Explained