I. Introduction
The history of Sino-Soviet relations can be traced back hundreds of years, starting with the initial Mongol invasion and devastation of the Kievan Rus’ principalities in the mid-thirteenth century. With time, the rise of the Russian Empire and Czarist rule reversed the infrastructural and cultural destruction caused by the Mongol hordes; by the advent of the twentieth century, the reformed Russian state had begun encroaching on Chinese territory while holding a very strong, influential grasp on the slowly collapsing Imperial Chinese regime. However, with the success of the Russian Revolution in 1917, the creation of the Soviet Union, and the institution of a communist government and administration, the nature of Sino-Soviet relations transformed, starting with a temporary ease of pressure as Russia dealt with an intranational conflict. The reorganized international ideology of the Soviet state presented China with distinct changes in foreign policy. As China was experiencing a similar, internal revolution pertaining to communism and the continuation of the present, national government, many Chinese adhered to the Soviet principles of denouncing capitalistic intentions while promoting ethnic nationalism. Additionally, the endorsement of a worldwide revolution led to the development of a friendly relationship between the Soviet government and Chinese Nationalist forces; thus, the Soviets urged the Chinese Communist Party to coalesce with the Nationalists. While this notion was eviscerated by Chiang Kai-Shek with the Shanghai Massacre of 1927, the USSR secretly provided aid to the Communist Party through the COMINTERN until the declaration of the of the newly independent People’s Republic of China (PRC) by Mao Zedon...
... middle of paper ...
...9 due to the Soviet agenda of pushing for an agreement of principles or a non-aggression pact while the PRC denies the substance of these concessions by stating nothing can be accomplished until the border dispute is solved. Meanwhile, both countries were disturbed by the other’s relationship with the United States: the Soviet Union with Nixon’s visit to Beijing in 1972 and China with the developing détente fueled by the Soviet-American Salt I accords. Additionally, the North Vietnamese victory against the democratic West in the Vietnam War, while being a great victory for the communist world, caused a further rift in Sino-Soviet relations as this historically anti-Chinese region appeased to the Soviets. The 1978 Sino-Japanese treaty and the 1979 invasion of Vietnam and Afghanistan by China and the Soviet Union respectively, opened the Sino-Soviet gap even wider.
“The distinct differences in the political systems of the two countries often prevented them from reaching a mutual understanding on key policy issues and even, as in the case of the Cuban missile crisis, brought them to the brink of war” (Library of Congress). The Soviet Union and The United States were complete opposites, The United States was a democracy whereas The Soviet Union was a dictatorship. This only began their differences though, their economies, beliefs, goals, and even their fears, everything about them made them different except for their enemy. The
Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union had started since the early conference in World War Two and increased further at the War’s conclusion. These tensions developed further during the Berlin Blockade and Airlift during 1948 and 1949, China becoming communist in 1949, and the Korean War between 1950 and 1953. The events, have been labelled as the early crisis of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, and greatly increased tensions between the two superpowers and further led the countries into a Cold War.
For the first time in the history of cross-strait tensions, there was a real threat that Washington and the CCP could engage in war. Washington’s involvement would come in because of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. The implication of this Act is that the U.S. promised to protect Taiwan in the event of an attack. Therefore, if the CCP decided to engage in a war with Taiwan, the United States would have no choice but to support Taiwan.
The birth of the early 20th century gave way to many political changes around the world such as the emergence of communism as a new way to govern countries. The Soviet Union was the first country to convert to this way of governing through the Russian Revolution in 1917. With the rise of the Bolsheviks party, a small socialist party who supported the working class more than the upper class, as an outcome to this revolution many countries were inspired to follow their footsteps. One such country was China. As China fell imperially in 1911, the Chinese Communist party emerged, reflecting the same values as its inspiration by organizing the country’s urban-working class. With the invasion of Japan, China’s enemy, in 1937 the CCP’s internal opposition,
During Nixon’s presidency, Communism was the number one threat, so for Nixon to open trade with Communist People’s Republic of China was an enormous success. In 1972 Nixon was the first U.S. president to visit the People’s Republic of China (http://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/short-history/nixon-foreignpolicy). After China was attacked by Japan in 1895, all the powerful European countries wanted to divide up China to keep China safe from Japan and also to have the ability to control the goods coming out of their part of China. America did not want that, so they established the Open Door Policy with China which gave every country equal trading rights with China to keep China safe from the other countries who want a chance to extort China (http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/modern/jb_modern_nixchina_1.html). Nixon’s trip to China was to get China to trade with America, which at the time...
Two conflicts nearly every American knows are the conflicts between what was the USSR and the conflict with China. The Cold War lasted from 1947 to 1991. This war between the United States and the Soviet Union resulted in an arms race and space exploration (History.com Staff). Additionally, conflict with China and America is still current and relevant in the U.S. as we need to understand the basis of our conflict before we can really do anything about it. While the conflict between China and America isn't just based in the conflict between Capitalism and communism, it is still important to understand these differences and how they affect us (Joseph
Failure of the Détente Between the Superpowers The French word ‘détente’, which the Oxford English Dictionary describes as “the easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation” (www.oed.com), first appeared in this context when a German newspaper used it to describe the visit of a British monarch at the beginning of the 20th century (Froman, 1991). In this essay, I will attempt to explain the cold war détente between the superpowers of the USA and the USSR in the 1970’s, concentrating first on its positive developments between 1971 and 1973 and then on the events that lead to its ultimate failure, symbolised by the soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The first real steps of relaxation of tensions were taken with the Moscow summit and the signing of the SALT 1 (Strategic Arms Limitations Talks) agreement in May 1972. The SALT agreement was a staring point for attempts to control nuclear arms, to restrict the impact and spread of nuclear weapons and to secure a balance due to ‘Mutual Assured Destruction’ (the notion that a nuclear attack from one side would lead to a retaliation from the other and therefore both sides would be greatly damaged) between the two superpowers and were to be followed up by further arms limitations talks within the next five years (Kent and Young, 2004). Also, agreements were reached on lowering the risk of accidental confrontation and on cooperation in science, health and environmental issues.
"When a power vacuum separates great powers, as one did the United States and the Soviet Union at the end of World War II, they are unlikely to fill it without bumping up against and bruising each other" (Gaddis). This 'bumping' and 'bruising' caused the tensions and hostilities that surfaced in the years following WWII.
The Web. The Web. 27 May 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/1354343?ref=search-gateway:1c7b5d35c756095be3255402d85e5e3f>. Nathan, Andrew J. "U.S.-China Relations Since 1949."
The spread of Communism and its ideals significantly increased during the final stages of the Chinese Civil War which intensified after the Second World War and resulted in a victory to the Communists in October 1949. At this time, the majority of the provinces in China were led by either the GMD or the CCP. However, the civilians in the GMD-ruled cities were suffering rapid inflation, strikes, violence and riots which led to a collapse of public order. Adding to this instability, corruption was rife within the Nationalist party’s lead...
During the Chinese Civil War, from 1927 to 1949, the Chinese people were very interested in communism. The United States tried containing communism and hoped it did not spread around the world. After World War II, communism looked great for many countries that were now in need of help from the government. Communism was just what they were looking for. All the countries that were interested in a communist style government, The Soviet Union always backed them up. This was horrible for the US and they tried to contain communism and tried to keep it from spreading. Before the policy of containment was established, in China the Qing Dynasty collapsed. Two dynasties were formed, the communists and nationalists. America was involved in this civil war but they were not literally on the battlefield even though they were supporting the
China’s ruling party at the time was the Kuomintang (KMT). They had toppled the Qing emperor, but they were unable to truly unite the country. In 1923, the KMT and the CCP briefly allied to defeat the warlords in Northern China, but this was not an alliance that we meant to last; the KMT leader Chia...
‘Between 1949 and 1955 Cold War tensions increased rather than decreased’ Between 1949 and 1955 there were a range of events that affected international relations. In 1949, it was the end of the Berlin blockade, the Soviets had exploded an atomic bomb and China had become a communist country. In this essay, there will be discussing on whether there was a thaw in relations or whether tensions increased, which is what I will be arguing for. John Foster Dulles’ idea of brinkmanship could be an argument for tensions increasing rather than decreasing between 1949 and 1955.
In order to have a better understanding about the conflict of Tiananmen and its influence on further American relations with People’s Republic of China, this paper gives a short background of the bilateral relations until 1990. Historically, the United States and China did not have good relations due to the political regime of China. In addition, China was not that developed economically to have trade or any kinds of relations with the US. According to some historical data, the first China-US negotiations at the ambassadorial level started on August 1, 1955. The bilateral relations of America and China consist of several stages. The first stage of the US-Chinese relations started in 1971 when both opened their doors to financial and economic ties. The trading volume of these countries stood at US$ 4...
Rosenberg, William G., and Young, Marilyn B. Transforming Russia and China: Revolutionary Struggle in the Twentieth Century. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.