Why China and the USSR Turned Against Each Other - Sarah Paine

Why It Matters

The split fractured the international communist movement, altered Cold War alignments, and influenced the conduct and outcomes of proxy conflicts in Asia, notably the Vietnam War, with lasting effects on global strategic balance.

Summary

After Stalin's death Mao Zedong expected to lead global communism but clashed with Nikita Khrushchev over ideology, prestige and strategy. Khrushchev's de‑Stalinization and policy of peaceful coexistence conflicted with Mao's Cultural Revolution and militantly anti‑Western posture. Tensions escalated over credit and support for North Vietnam, Soviet refusal to share nuclear technology, disputes over naval basing and surprise Chinese attacks across the Taiwan straits. The rift became public by 1960 and led to an open Sino‑Soviet split.