What this lesson teaches
I can judge how China's and Japan's relations with the USA and the USSR changed during the Cold War.
Syllabus 8838, Theme II, Learning Outcomes. evaluate the development of China's and Japan's relations with the superpowers during the Cold War
Make a guess
In 1950 Mao and Stalin signed a treaty of friendship and alliance. Do you think the two countries were equal partners?
- No, China was the senior partner because it had more people.
- No, the USSR was stronger, and Mao resented Stalin's terms.
- Yes, they shared power and decisions equally as allies.
Show the answer
No, the USSR was stronger, and Mao resented Stalin's terms.
China got a modest loan, Stalin kept rights in Manchuria, and China paid for Soviet arms in Korea.
The 1950 treaty bound China to the USSR, and Soviet aid helped build China's industry, but the partners were never equals.
In February 1950, Mao and Stalin signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance. Each promised to help the other if attacked by Japan or its allies, meaning the USA. China received a loan of 300 million US dollars. Stalin kept special rights in Manchuria for a few more years.
The Korean War deepened cooperation. China fought, while the USSR supplied weapons and some air cover. But Mao resented that Stalin avoided open combat and that China had to pay for Soviet arms.
In the 1950s, Soviet aid transformed Chinese industry. Thousands of Soviet experts helped build around 150 major industrial projects, and China copied the Soviet model of five-year plans. In 1957 the USSR even agreed to help China develop nuclear weapons.
Yet the alliance was unequal. China was the junior partner, and Mao, the leader of a huge revolution, did not accept being treated as one. After Stalin's death in 1953, Mao saw himself as a senior figure in world communism.
- Sino-Soviet Treaty
- February 1950: mutual defence and a 300 million dollar loan.
- Soviet aid
- Around 150 major projects and thousands of experts in the 1950s.
- Nuclear help
- 1957 agreement, cancelled in 1959.
Real examples to use
Treaty of Friendship, 14 February 1950
Mao and Stalin promised mutual defence against Japan or its allies. China received 300 million US dollars of credit, spread over five years.
The 156 projects, 1953 to 1957
China's First Five-Year Plan was built around 156 major industrial projects designed, equipped and staffed with Soviet help, including coal mines, power stations and machine works.
Nuclear help, 1957 to 1959
Moscow agreed in 1957 to help China build an atomic bomb, then cancelled the promise in 1959, a sign of the partners' growing distrust.
Worked example: Explaining cooperation in the early 1950s
Why did China ally with the USSR?
- Ideology: a shared communist outlook and hostility to capitalism.
- Security: protection against the USA, especially over Taiwan and Korea.
- Development: Soviet aid and experts to industrialise China.
- Limits: inequality and Mao's pride were sources of later strain.
Watch out for this
The Sino-Soviet alliance was a partnership of equals.
China was the junior partner and dependent on Soviet aid. Mao resented this, which later fuelled the split.
Check your understanding
What did China gain from the 1950 treaty?
- A permanent seat on the UN Security Council
- Control of Soviet territory along the Siberian border
- A Soviet promise of protection and a loan
Show the answer
A Soviet promise of protection and a loan
Right. Security and aid were the main gains.