TOPIC 1 CASE STUDY: HOW DID

CHINA RISE AS A WORLD POWER

AFTER 1949
Background

Under its Manchu rulers, China had a huge peasantry labouring under a powerful landlord
class, many of whom also became warlords, using their peasant armies to gain control of that vast
country.

On 10 October 1911, the ‘Last Emperor’, three-year-old Pu Yi, was overthrown by nationalist
Kuomintang led by Dr Sun Yat-sen in the majority. Their authority did not extend very far and
most of the country fell into the hands of warlords.

• Inspired by the Russian Revolution, Sun invited Russian advisers to China. While they
helped him reorganise the Kuomintang (KMT), a Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

• Under Sun, the KMT and the CCP worked together as they had similar aims such as the
nationalisation of land and industry and creating a more just and equal society. While
the CCP was reluctant to support the KMT, as they had a far more revolutionary
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 programme, they were not strong enough to bring about revolution at that stage and were
advised by the USSR to work from within the KMT.

• Sun Yat-sen died in 1925. His successor, general Chiang Kai-Shek set about taking
control of the country from the warlords. The CCP supported this and used the victories to
encourage peasants to rise against their landlords and workers to overthrow their
employers. But the KMT relied on the support of the middle class and foreign
business interests and could not afford to alienate them. So the KMT turned on the
CCP.

• The KMT conducted a campaign of terror against the CCP in 1927 executing members on
sight and surrounding their base in Kiangsi province.

In 1935, the main fighting force of the CCP, known as the Red Army managed to break out of
Kiangsi. Numbering about 100 000 and led by Mao Zedong they embarked on a year-long “Long
March” to Yenan in Shensi province. Faced by almost insurmountable natural obstacles
(mountains and rivers) and attacked by KMT forces all the way, they lost all by 5000 of their
original members.

How and why did the Communists triumph and consolidate power?

• The Red Army rebuilt itself through co-operation with the peasants in the areas where
they moved. Soldiers had to pay for their supplies and help families who housed them.
Landlords were forced to give up most or all of their land, peasants co-operatives were
formed to farm it and schools and clinics were set up.

• The key to the success of the CCP, therefore, was the massive support received
from peasants.

• In 1937, the Japanese invaded China. At first Chiang declared that his priority remained
the destruction the CCP, but he was forced by his officers to rather join forces with the
CCP and focus on driving out the Japanese. To do this, he received huge supplies of
money and arms from the USA.

• The CCP threw themselves wholeheartedly into the struggle and in the process gained
control of a vast area of China. Chiang, on the other hand, was cautious, convinced that
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 he had to save his resources for the civil war with the CCP that would follow the Japanese
defeat.
• After the war, Chiang was urged by the USA not to renew the civil war and Mao
offered to meet him to work out a plan for peace. Chiang
ignored them, convinced that he had superior numbers
and weapons.

• BUT, the Red Army was better led, KMT commanders

were corrupt and used the war and US aid to enrich
themselves. The peasants supported the Red Army,
knowing that it offered a far better deal. Many ordinary
soldiers also were disillusioned with KMT rule and
sympathised with peasants. Thousands defected

After the capitals Peking and Canton surrendered in 1949, Chiang fled to the island of Formosa
(now Taiwan) and Mao proclaimed the People’s Republic of China on the mainland.

The Cultural Revolution

In the first six years of its power, the CCP adopted pragmatic policies to get the Chinese economy
working again.

• China was undeveloped with little industry and the bulk of its population engaged in
agriculture. Mao wanted to develop China into a major industrial state. This area of
improvement was Mao’s focus during his first five year plan (1953-1957). Mao accepted
millions in aid from the USSR.

• The CCP also established control over China, setting up an efficient system of local
government and developing education and health care. The CCP, however, allowed no
opposition and controlled all aspects of public life such as education and the media.
Terror was also used to assert communist rule. Over 1 million people were executed
between 1949 and 1951.

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The Cultural Revolution in China was a period on great upheaval in Chinese Society between
1956 and 1976. This time period can be divided up into:

Phase One (1956-1957) – The Hundreds of Flowers

Phase Two (1958-1961) – The Great Leap Forward

Phase Three (1967-1976) – Cultural Proletariat Revolution

The Hundred Flowers (1956 – 1957)

• In May 1956 Mao opened up debate and initiated the Hundred Flowers Campaign which
encouraged critical thinking and asked for different ideas about government and party
policy.

• He got more than he bargained for. Chinese intellectuals not only criticised policy but also
the way in which Mao governed the country. The campaign was shut down in June 1957
and those who had criticised the government were denounced as right-wingers and were
punished.

• Mao did not like people to think differently from himself and was not able to work well with
people of talent. Some critics therefore argue that the Hundred Flowers was actually
designed to reveal people who disagreed with Mao and then remove them.

The Great Leap Forward (1958 – 1961)

In 1955, Mao decided that Chinese society should be radically transformed. The CCP forced
individual farmers to join Agricultural Cooperatives, in which all property was communally owned
and members were paid according to how much work they did. Local party official had wide
powers to control cooperative and many became corrupt and authoritarian.

In 1958, Mao launched the Great Leap Forward. This was the second Five Year Plan which
broke with the Russian model (against the advice of the Russian advisers) by focusing on the
peasants rather than on industry.

• Rural cooperatives were forcibly merged into huge ‘People’s Communes’ of about 5 000
households/20 000 people that were supposed to start large-scale farms as ‘backyard
factories’

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 • Workers and peasants were made to set up backyard furnaces to produce steel.
• Large work-gangs of peasants were organised for new infrastructure projects.
• Non-negotiable production quotas were set for all areas.
• Aim: increase food production for export.
• “overtake all capitalist countries in a fairly short time, and become one of the richest, most
advanced and powerful countries in the world.”
• CCP promoted Mao and his thinking by publishing false production figures that claimed that
the Great Leap Forward was a success
- People worshipped Mao

Consequences of the Great Leap Forward

The campaign was actually a failure. Bad planning, poor support for farmers, corrupt officials and
the fact that the state taxed a large part of what farmers produced meant that agricultural
production soon fell to below 1950 levels.

• Taxed what was left heavily

• So much energy went into steel production and infrastructure projects that farming was
neglected
• The communal farms were too large to work efficiently. Peasants also lost the use of
private plots to grow their own food, which contributed to the death toll
• Produced inferior useless goods

This collapse combined with bad weather in 1961 caused the worst famine in human history, in
which 20-30 million people died of starvation.

As failure or resistance was met with terror, the statistics sent to the government and the CCP
were often falsified, but the reality could not be denied.

The Cultural Proletariat Revolution (1967 – 1976)

• The failure of the Great Leap Forward discredited Mao and weakened his position.
• He then began to plan his return to power. This included cementing his support in the
army and writing down his ideas that were published in The Thoughts of Chairman Mao
which was also known as The Little Red Book.

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 • The army and young people were to be the vehicle of his reassertion of power. Armed
with the Little Red Book Chinese youth were organised into units of Red Guards and
criticise all people in authority excepting for Mao.
• In this way, Mao built up a cult dedicated to his own person as the ‘Great Helmsman’
and purged anyone who did not fully and unquestioningly support him.
• Massive rallies, involving millions, were held in Beijing and the masses were urged to
destroy the ‘four olds’:
- Old ideas
- Old customs
- Old culture
- Old ways of life
• The main targets were intellectuals, particularly teachers and lecturers. Scientists,
engineers and people in management positions were also under attack. It was a crime just
to be an educated person. Most intellectuals were purged.
• The main punishment was to be sent for ‘re-education’ which mainly involved hard labour
and indoctrination in the thoughts of Chairman Mao. People who resisted or who were
more of a threat might be imprisoned (about 2 million) or killed (about 1 million).
• This was suppose to create a society in which everyone was equal and in which there
were no social classes and in which no-one thought themselves superior.
• It also serves to remove anyone who was a threat to Mao, including his arch-rival Liu
Shao-chi and anyone else within the CCP who did not blindly support Mao. Writers and
others who were critical of the ‘leader’ were also removed.
• The consequences of the cultural revolution were generally disastrous. By 1969 it had
secured Mao’s complete control, but it also:
- Closed schools and colleges for almost 10 years and disrupted education.
Students even refused to write exams because the results showed that not all of
them to be equal.
➢ Many students formed the revolutionary ‘Red Guards’ and attacked their
teachers and anyone who was accused of following a ‘capitalist road’.
- Industrial production fell as technical experts were removed and workers were
given full control of factories
- Led to violent clashes between the fanatical Red Guards and the army

There were, however, some positive consequences:

• Women’s involvement in the Red Guards and the focus on equality helped women gain
greater equality with men.
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 • Sending doctors to the countryside improved medical care in rural areas.
• Basic education of peasants (primary school) was encouraged (although strict discipline
and devotion to Mao and communism was essential).

What was the nature of Chinese relations with the Soviet Union and
the USA from 1949 – 1973

China and the USSR

Mao dreamed of China becoming a world superpower and he knew that in order to become a big
player in the Communist world, he needed to maintain a close relationship with Stalin. Stalin had
established political control over the international Communist movement known as Comintern.

the Soviets had their own clear military, economic and political interests in maintaining relations
with China – as long as China did not challenge Stalin’s dominance of the Comintern. Stalin
welcomed Mao to the Comintern, but distrusted his ambitions. As a result, Stalin did everything he
could to limit Mao’s power and influence.

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Convergence: 1949-1960

• China and the USSR signed a treaty of friendship on 14 February 1950 because they
both followed communism and saw each other as allies
- Treaty of friendship, alliance and mutual assistance
- Soviet Union agreed to hand over its railway and other interests in Northern China
and the two countries started a number of ‘joint-venture’ industrial projects
- USSR support China through the Korean War
- They both supported North Vietnam in the Vietnam War
- Economic aid from USSR played an essential role in the success of China’s first
Five Year Plan (1953 – 1957) (developing heavy industries such as fuel, electric
power, iron, steel, fertilisers, farm machinery)
- However, although they shared the same broad Marxist ideology, an intense national
and personal rivalry remained, and each country put its own national interests ahead
of any common purpose

Divergence: 1960 – 1989 or the Sino-Soviet Split

For the first few years, China followed a Soviet-style economic policy in which the state invested in
large-scale heavy industry, but encouraged individual small-scale peasant farming and
commercial enterprises. By the mid-1950s, the Chinese economy has begun to stabilise with help
of Soviet support.

However, these policies created inequalities and Mao and other followers were determined to
return to what they believed was true Marxism: collective ownership of agricultural land and state
ownership of mines, factories and commerce. Mao’s ideas became codified into ‘Mao Zedong
Thought’ or ‘Maoism”.

The Soviet Union had a different course. When Stalin died in 1953, the new Soviet leader, Nikita
Khrushchev, denounced the oppression and economic failures of Stalin and introduced new
economic reforms.

• State owned land and factories but managers encouraged to use capitalist-type methods
such as paying higher wages for good work and allowing enterprises to keep some of their
profits.
• Khrushchev also allowed a little more freedom of thought and debate.
• Advocated for ‘peaceful co-existence’ with the west.

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 - China disapproved of Khrushchev’s policy of ‘peaceful co-existence’ with the
west arguing that it was in conflict with Marx and Lenin’s aim of world
communism
- USSR was critical of China’s economic policy, the ‘Great Leap Forward’ as
Mao tended to pay more attention to creating communes on the farms rather
than the development of heavy industry
- Khrushchev’s reforms were threatening to Mao as he feared they would
encourage people to challenge his authority
- Mao attacked Khrushchev’s policies as ‘capitalist revisionism’, saying they
were a deviation from Marxist-Leninist purity and tried to position himself as
the only true champion of socialism
- However, China felt that the USSR was giving insufficient aid when compare to
aid given to ‘non-communist’ countries such as Egypt and India
- China was angered by USSR refusal to supply her with nuclear weapons
- USSR withdrew technicians from China in 1960
- China criticised the USSR’s handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis
- There was competition for influence in the Third World – instead of them
working together as a powerful communist bloc
- There were disputes over the long border between the two countries,
particularly the area of China taken by Russia in the 19th century where shots
were exchanged in 1969 bringing a real threat of war
- China objected to USSR treating China as a junior partner as it saw itself as
the USSR’s equal
- There was competition for the leadership of world communism and both
claimed to be ‘true’ Marxists
- There was deep personal dislike between Mao and Khrushchev

China and the West

Initially the West was openly hostile to the communist government in China (1949 – 1970)

• From 1950 until 1971, proposals to admit communist China as a member of the UN and to
give China’s seat on the Security Council instead of Taiwan was blocked by the USA (veto
power)
• Relations hardened when China supported North Korea and later the Vietcong in
Vietnam against the USA
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 • China was also unhappy about the way in which the USA had poured aid into Japan to turn
this old enemy into a new capitalist economic powerhouse
• The USA set up defensive military alliance against China similar to NATO in Europe, this
was SEATO (South-East Asian Treaty Organisation)
- Members of SEATO = USA, France, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Philippines,
South Vietnam and Pakistan

After China’s split with the USSR (Sino-Soviet Split), relations slowly improved in the 1970s China
felt isolated and there was real threat of a USSR nuclear attack on China in 1969 over the border
dispute.

• USA saw an opportunity to improve relations with China and thereby decrease the
communist threat. Improved relations could also lead to an end to the Vietnam War and
help the USA to decrease its involvement in Asia.
• As a result, USA removed its objection to communist China replacing Taiwan in the UN in
1971. After Henry Kissinger (US Foreign Secretary) had brokered a meeting and the USA
table-tennis team had visited China (‘ping-pong diplomacy’), in 1972 President Nixon
became the first US President to visit China.

Relations continued to improve after Mao’s death in

1976. New leader, Deng Xioping, intent on
modernising China’s economy, visited the USA and
trade and diplomatic links were established with the
USA, Canada, Britain, the EEC, Australia and
countries in South America and Africa.

In 1979, the USA and China established full

diplomatic relations with China.

- To do this, the USA had to break off

diplomatic relations with Taiwan but still
maintained informal relations. The USA
agree to still assist with her defensive capabilities and also that the USA would
consider coming to her aid if Taiwan was attacked by mainland China.
- The relationship between China and the USA concentrated on trade and
investment as well as encouraging tourism. Academic and cultural sharing
programmes were also a feature.

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China’s relationship with neighbouring states

1. China and Korea

- Korea had been occupied by the Japanese since 1910. The USSR drove them from
North Korea and USA from the South in 1945. The agreement was that Korea would
form a united government, but that communist north and capitalist south were unable
to reach a agreement, despite UN involvement leaving the country divided at the 38th
parallel.
- After border clashes the North Korean army invaded the South in June 1950. The
UN declared the north as the aggressor and US General MacArthur took control of
the UN forces sent to Korea.
- China saw MacArthur’s actions as a threat, believing that ‘the aim of US aggression
in Korea is not only Korea itself but also the extension of aggression to China’. China
called for the removal of foreign troops and negotiation of a peaceful settlement and
warned that it would retaliate if the UN force crossed the 38th parallel.
- MacArthur not only crossed the border and sent his army well into North Korea, but
also suggested blockading China and bombing its industrial centres. The latter
suggestion were rejected but the Chinese entered the was as threatened.
- The Chinese succeeded in driving the UN forced back across the 38 th parallel, an
armistice was signed in July 1953 but no peace treaty was ever signed.

2. China and Vietnam

- Before 1949 Vietnam had been a French colony. The Japanese had infiltrated during
WWII. After the war the French wanted to regain control but the Vietnamese
nationalists (Vietminh) wanted independence. Led by communist leader, Ho Chi-
Minh, they defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The French agreed to
withdraw and the Vietminh agreed to withdraw to of the 17th parallel.
- Opposition grew against the US-backed puppet dictator Diem who ruled South
Vietnam and a National Liberation Front (Vietcong) took up arms against him.
- As the US increased its military involvement in Vietnam, China again felt threatened,
but was reluctant to engage the US in another war and so only sent supplies like
food and arms to the Vietcong.
- After the war ended in 1973, China and Vietnam fell out over China’s support for the
extremist Khmer Rouge in Cambodia which saw failed Chinese attack on Vietnam
in 1979. Relations have since improved somewhat but remain distant.

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3. China and Africa (NOT EXAMINABLE)
- China identified with the developing world and offered economic aid to a number of
African countries. This involved both loans and expertise.
- Hampered by a lack of resources, China ranks lowest among countries giving
economic aid.
- China’s most significant project was the 1800km Tanzam railway linking Zambia to
Dar- es – Salaam to avoid dependence on SA ports.
- China also backed certain liberation movements in Africa, generally in competition
with USSR-backed movements – SWANU in Namibia (USSR back SWAPO),
COREMO in Mozambique (USSR backed FRELIMO) and the PAC in South Africa
(USSR backed the ANC). The Chinese-backed movements were generally
unsuccessful in their bid for power.,

4. China and Tibet

- Although once part of China, Tibet operated as an independent state since the
Chinse revolution of 1911.
- The Chinese, however, never gave up their claim to Tibet and invaded it in 1950.
- Communism was forced on Tibet and the Chinese attempted to crush Buddhism.
This is sometimes referred to as a ‘cultural genocide’.
- The Chinese also embarked a land distribution policy in Tibet. Land of the
monasteries and nobility were taken and given to the peasants.
- In response to this, monks led an uprising against the Chinese army stationed in
Tibet in 1956 -1959. During this time 86 000 Tibetans died including the Dalai
Lama’s government in exile.
- The Chinese also tried to abduct the Dalai Lama and 300 000 Tibetans surrounded
the palace in order to protect him.
- The Dalai Lama escaped into exile in India but by the end of the bloody conflict in
1964, 300 000 Tibetans had been publicly executed, or simply “disappeared”. Many
fled into exile. Tibetan temples were destroyed.
- The Dalai Lama has never returned to Tibet and still resides in India under
protection of the Indian Government.
- The Chinese continue their control of Tibet up to the present day.

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 5. China and India
- India and China signed a trade agreement in 1954, but tensions arose when India
gave asylum to the Dalai Lama of Tibet who set up a government in exile in 1962.
- The Chinese then invaded India along the Tibetan border in 1962. This was
apparently in response to a disputed claim over the area of Aksai Chin. They
withdrew after inflicting casualties on the Indian army.
- Subsequently, the Chinese allied themselves with Pakistan, largely because India
had allied with the USSR. This alliance was never tested in war although a state of
hostility continued to exist between India and Pakistan.
- Since the collapse of the USSR in 1991, relations between China and India have
improved considerably. They are now major trading partners and were founder
members of BRIC (2006. Now BRICS, along with South Africa and Brazil).

6. China and Taiwan

- Taiwan was home to the KMT and the exiled leader Chiang-Kai-Shek who lost his
civil war to Mao and the CCP in 1949.
- The Taiwanese did not see the Chinese government as legitimate and claimed
mainland China belonged to Taiwan.
- Until 1972, Nationalist Chinese was backed by the USA both diplomatically and
militarily. The USA broke off this relationship when they began a full diplomatic
relationship with China.
- China has always claimed Taiwan as part of China.
- Taiwan has continued to maintain its independence, but internationally they
tendency is for Taiwan to be regarded as part of China. Their relationship is
cordial but still tense.

Was China a superpower at the time of Mao’s death (1976)?

What is a superpower?

• State with dominant position in international relations, characterised by the

ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale through military
and economic strength, as well and diplomatic influence.
• Country that has capacity to project dominating power and influence anywhere
in the world, and sometimes in more than one region of the globe at a time,
and so may plausibly sustain status of global hegemony.
• Criteria: military, economic, diplomatic, political, technological

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Mao inherited the world’s largest population (600m) and the world’s third largest territory:
this worked well for China’s potential as a future great power.

Social progress under Mao:

- Life expectancy improved from 35 years old in 1949 to 68 years old by 1982
- School enrolment increased: less than 50% but 96% by 1976

By the 1950s the foundations were laid for China’s economic progress

- China became self-sufficient in nearly all resources and technologies

- But China is still behind USA and USSR in terms of economy and technology
- This undermined China’s political and military influence
- China fell short of several criteria of superpower status

BUT- PRC was a significant regional power and serious role-player in Asia and beyond

- Identified itself more clearly with developing world

- Competed with USSR for influence in Africa
- Backed liberation struggles
- Infrastructural projects
- 1970s: PRC’s aid to Africa exceeded that of the USSR
- PRC rivalled the USSR for leadership of communist world

1970s China enhanced its reputation as a potential super power:

- Cold War context: changed balance of power between two superpowers

- Nixon’s visit to China signified changed from bi-polar to multi-polar world

By Mao’s death (September 1976), PRC was emerging as a respected role-player in the
Cold Wat and international affairs. PRC was a great power, but not yet a superpower. In
terms of economics, PRC fell short of superpower status but:

- China’s immense natural and human resources meant that within three decades of
Mao’s death, it had become the second largest economy in the world and it looks set
to overtake the USA in the next decade or so.

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- China’s economy is
capitalist with high level of
government intervention.
There is still only one
political party – the CCP.
When young people tried to
push for liberalisation of the
political system, their
uprising was brutally
crushed. This took place in
Tiananmen Square 1989.

- There is no political freedom and China is criticised in the West for its human rights
abused. The system is generally referred to as “State Capitalism”.
- Otherwise, China’s economic liberalisation has also helped to improve China’s
relations with the rest of the world.

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