Analyse Mao’s Foreign Policy.
Chairman Mao’s foreign policy incorporated many different aspects ranging from the Korean War to the re-establishment of good relations between China and America, also the prominence of the PRC’s role in the world at the time.
The Korean War for the Chinese played a very important role in the development of the PRC. After Japan was defeated in 1945, Korea was split along the ‘38th parallel – the USA controlling the south, and the Soviet Union controlling the North. However in 1950, the Koreans crossed the 38th parallel in an attempt to bring communist control to the whole country. Many at the time believed that this was part of a plan set out by Mao to form a new communist area. However, this invasion was much to Mao’s surprise. At the time, Mao was much more concerned with the issues in Taiwan and Tibet. These events played an important role in establishing the PRC’s prominence amongst the western world.
Throughout the rule of Mao, Sino-Soviet relations have constantly fluctuated. For a start, Mao detested Khrushchev much more than he did Stalin. There were constant criticisms thrown between the two. For instance Mao criticised the USSR’s failure to support the PRC over the Quervoy and Matsu crises. However despite these disagreements, in 1949 Mao left for Moscow. Mao had come for help from the USSR – economic and military; he hoped for an alliance between the two countries to protect China from attack from the USA. This treaty was finally signed on St Valentine’s Day 1950 in which China was promised aid if the US attacked and $300 million US dollars in credits over 5 years. In return the soviets were given extensive economic concessions in Manchuria and Xinjiang. Mao had also made the trip to Moscow to get a blessing from the Marxist-Leninist pope. In the long term, the USSR provided generous assistance in promoting China’s 5 year plan and thousands of technical experts flooded in from China. The Russians even promised to...