Sino-American Relations : Effects on the development of the Cold War

1. Sino-American Relations: Effects on the development of the Cold War Hannah Wells, 20th Century World History, March 1, 2012 BACKGROUND The Sino-American relations during the Cold War underwent fluctuations, beginning with hostility and ending with a détente. Beginning in1949, the Sino-American relationship deteriorated when the US refused to recognize the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a legitimate state under Mao’s rule. Between 1950 and 1970, the US and China would undergo hostile relations revolving around communism as their main conflict. Most of the military action between China and the US took place in Asia. After such tense relations for 20 years, a détente was finally reached between China and the US. IMMEDIATE MILITARY SIGNIFICANCE The Korean War broke out in 1953 and China fought the US to keep their ideology in Korea. This began the long years of hostility between these two nations. Through the 1950s and 1960s, the relation between the US and China continued to be hostile (Worden, Et. Al.). Thus, US foreign policy strove to aid Taiwan in its defenses against reunification with China. Through the Korean War and the Cold War of the 1960s between the US and China, relations were not good, as China believed the US was being imperialistic, while the US believed China was spreading communism to other Asian states (Rogers and Thomas 136). The US created the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954 to contain communism in Asia. This angered Mao and further divided China and the US from good relations (Tomkinson 126). This was a threat to the US that China intended to invade Taiwan and communize it (Todd 129). The US occupied Taiwan and offered military and economic aid to the nation. Mao responded by shelling the TachenIslaoff the east coast of China. IMMEDIATE POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE In 1955, China told the US that it did not want war with the US, but the conflicting ideologies of the two nations continually put a divide between them (Worden Et. Al.). Although the US and China did not share the same political and ideological ideas, this proposal of eschewing from war put some level of trust between them. However, with the US’s involvement in the Vietnam War during the 1960s and China on the opposing side, good relations between the two nations could not be called (Worden Et. Al). In the late 1960s and early 1970s, China and the US saw the benefits of forming good relations because both of the nations found a common enemy in the USSR (Worden Et. Al.). In the 1970s, both China and the US benefited from the called détente. China gained UN membership, which put China in a position to have greater influence over developing countries. China also reunified Taiwan with the mainland, and improved its relations with Japan through China’s good relations with the US (Rogers and Thomas 143). HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE The US throughout the mid to late 20th century fought to contain communism in Asia, just as the US had been doing since the first communist movement in 1917. The conflicts between the US, China, and the USSR all come down to the same problem: clashing ideologies and trying to either spread or contain them. In the Chinese-American battle to spread and wipeout communism respectively, a cool-down in the Cold War followed, which led to a period of peace between the two nations. The high-strung tensions between China and the US between 1950 and 1973 ultimately led to good relations and a détente between these two nations. The détente also created good relations with the USSR for both China and the US. The Sino-American relations in this time period and the events that occurred because of the relations carried out until the end of the Cold War. THE PLAYERS The US and China joined forces during WWII against Japan, however most of the military aid the US was providing went to the Nationalist (anti-communist) party of China (Tomkinson 124). When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Mao Zedong came to power, the US refused to recognize the communist controlled PRC as a state (Rogers and Thomas 133). The US and China butted heads with communist containment (US) and expansionism in Asia (China). The US, in keeping with its containment policy, tried to protect other Asian states from communism. However, the CCP of the PRC wanted to regain lost states and keep its communist policies in place, thus a conflict between the two nations was inevitable. President Richard Nixon and Mao securing good relations between their two nations in 1972. WORKS CITED: Rogers, Keely, and Jo Thomas. 20th Century World: The Cold War. London: Pearson Education Limited, 2008. Print. Todd, Allan. The Cold War. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2011. Print. Tomkinson, John L. The Cold War. Athens, Greece: Anagnosis, 2005. Print. Worden, Robert L., Andrea M. Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan. "China - Sino-American Relations." Country Studies. US Library of Congress. Web. 11 Feb. 2012. <http:// countrystudies.us/china/ 129.htm>.