The consolidation of Sino-Soviet friendship 1950-54

The origins of the Korean War
1. Korean War was first test of the new alliance
  1. Military campaign against South Korea was agreed between Stalin and the North's communist leader Kim Il-Sung
    1. Negotiations kept secret from Mao
2. Stalin's priorities in the run up to the Korean War
  1. Soviet troops mustn't meet US troops in battle - if they do it would risk nuclear attack - China must do most of the fighting
  2. USSR do not want to be forced to fight in Korea under the terms of the Treaty of Friendship
  3. USSR will not give military aid to China - too expensive
  4. Must consolidate comm control in Korea - if not, US will take control of North Korea and attack Russia across the border
3. In essence - Stalin wanted to expand comm influence to South-East Asia without involving Russia in the war
  1. Therefore he needed Mao to fight with minimalist Russian aid, he achieved this in the following ways:
    1. Persuaded Kim Il-Sung to attack South Korea - promising Soviet backing
    2. Following entry of UN troops, Mao feared North K would be defeated - leading to capitalist invasion of China
      1. Forced Mao to enter war - Mao anticipated Soviet help under the terms of the Treaty of Friendship
    3. Stalin refused to help - as China was fighting US forces - UN was not a capitalist nation - so terms of treaty did not apply
The Korean War 1950-1953
1. China's entry into Korean War was hugely significant
  1. UN troops were held off, and after 3 years of fighting - war ended with reassertion of the division of Korea
    1. Partial success for USSR - comm regime in North Korea had been consolidated - but they had failed to expand their influence in South-East Asia
Significance of the War for Sino-Soviet relations
1. Although Stalin manipulated Mao into entering war - the conflict consolidated the Sino-Soviet friendship
  1. Huge cost of war increased China's dependence on the USSR
    1. USSR refused to join the war as China's ally but agreed to sell China advanced military hardware
      1. Post-Korean War China turned to USSR for aid - to help rebuild their shattered economy
2. For Russia - war had proved China's worth as an ally
  1. Stalin acknowledged that China played crucial role in acting as a buffer between UN troops and Soviet border
3. Following the War - there were 2 further Sino-Soviet agreements, in the 1953 and 1954 deals, the USSR agreed to:
  1. A significant package of aid for China's first 5 year plan - including a bigger loan than had been agreed in 1950
  2. Help China build power plants
  3. Hand over the Lushan Naval base to China - located on the border between the countries
  4. Increase trade with China
Significance of the war for the USA
1. USA concerned by Korean war
  1. Demonstrated potential power of an alliance between USSR and China
    1. China's willingness to fight alongside other comm nations also made any kind of alliance with the USA impossible
Confrontation over Taiwan
1. After comm victory in Chinese civil war - Nationalists set up their own govt in Taiwan, which was extremely important to Mao for 2 reasons
  1. He was concerned that Taiwan could be used as a US base in a future war between China and the US
  2. Mao wanted to unite China under communist leadership
2. As a result - Mao launched 2 unsuccessful attempts to take over Taiwan by force
  1. The first 1954-55 was significant because of the response from the superpowers
    1. The USA
      1. Congress moved quickly to defend Taiwan
        September 54 - US military leaders advised Eisenhower to use nukes to defend Taiwan
        Eisenhower refused - but in Dec 1954, US and Taiwan signed a Mutual Defence Treaty, guaranteeing Taiwan's independence
        US response demonstrated ongoing hostility between US and China
    2. The USSR
      1. Khrushchev publicly agreed to retaliate against US if China was invaded or bombed by US forces
        In private - made clear that he didn't want to be involved
        Soviet response was significant as it showed that the USSR was unwilling to help China achieve its military goals
        Also indicated that Khrushchev was worried that Mao's ill-judged foreign policy would lead to nuclear war

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The consolidation of Sino-Soviet friendship 1950-54

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