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US-China relations are endlessly compared to a new "Cold War"—but I think we need more creative analogies. One analogy that I've been considering recently is less well known to Americans but is full of interesting parallels & differences:
The Sino-Soviet split.
[THREAD]
![US-China relations are endlessly compared to a new "Cold War"—but I think we need more creative analogies. One analogy that I've been considering recently is less well known to Americans but is full of interesting parallels & differences: The Sino-Soviet split. [THREAD]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ec5OV_sXkAM4I3T.jpg "US-China relations are endlessly compared to a new \"Cold War\"—but I think we need more creative analogies. One analogy that I've been considering recently is less well known to Americans but is full of interesting parallels & differences: The Sino-Soviet split. [THREAD]")
![US-China relations are endlessly compared to a new "Cold War"—but I think we need more creative analogies. One analogy that I've been considering recently is less well known to Americans but is full of interesting parallels & differences: The Sino-Soviet split. [THREAD]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ec5OX0LXgAAIJnd.jpg "US-China relations are endlessly compared to a new \"Cold War\"—but I think we need more creative analogies. One analogy that I've been considering recently is less well known to Americans but is full of interesting parallels & differences: The Sino-Soviet split. [THREAD]")
The Sino-Soviet split.
[THREAD]
Reading Li Danhui & Yafeng Xia's excellent new book ( https://www.amazon.com/Mao-Sino-Soviet-Split-1959-1973-History/dp/149851166X), I began to consider parallels between these cases of deeply intertwined societies “splitting."
The Sino-Soviet split was a fitful process of tension, disentanglement, & recrimination. Sound familiar?
The Sino-Soviet split was a fitful process of tension, disentanglement, & recrimination. Sound familiar?
From the sharing & stealing of technology to the flows of students & scholars, China has benefited from its relationship with the U.S. as it benefited from massive Soviet technological & material support.
What we'd today call "hard decoupling" happened then, but it was painful.
What we'd today call "hard decoupling" happened then, but it was painful.
On the human toll of the split, I found Elizabeth McGuire's recent book to be quite moving: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Heart-Chinese-Communists-Revolution/dp/0190640553
I think back to it when I read @yangyang_cheng's essential essays on being a scientist between the two worlds, or this @ChinaFile essay: https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/viewpoint/me-breakdown-us-china-relations-personal
I think back to it when I read @yangyang_cheng's essential essays on being a scientist between the two worlds, or this @ChinaFile essay: https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/viewpoint/me-breakdown-us-china-relations-personal
But back to geopolitics: In the Chinese view, both superpowers sought at different times to shape & even control China’s future in ways that the CCP eventually deemed unacceptable.
The USSR was sensitive & resistant to Mao's bids for leadership of the world communist movement.
The USSR was sensitive & resistant to Mao's bids for leadership of the world communist movement.
But many feel that shifts in China's *domestic* politics were the decisive drivers—whether Mao's leftward turn or Xi's more assertive & authoritarian turn.
(These shifts aren't the same, of course, but they underscore how much CCP "domestic politics" shape "external" behavior.)
(These shifts aren't the same, of course, but they underscore how much CCP "domestic politics" shape "external" behavior.)
Of course, the differences between these cases are numerous & obvious. The CCP & CPSU’s foundational linkage was based upon shared communist ideals, & the two countries are geographical neighbors, among other factors altogether different from the U.S.-China relationship...
The comparison is partial at best. But when so many are weary of the "new Cold War" meme, I hope this stirs some discussion.
We still debate when the Sino-Soviet split started—& we'll be debating the same about the Sino-American split for years to come. https://twitter.com/zeithistoriker/status/1282904955918024704
We still debate when the Sino-Soviet split started—& we'll be debating the same about the Sino-American split for years to come. https://twitter.com/zeithistoriker/status/1282904955918024704
