IB History Sino-us Relations 1947-79 Notes

The Chinese Civil War and US Involvement (1946-1949)

1. The Chinese Civil War (1927-1949) was fought between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) led by Mao Zedong and the Kuomintang (KMT) led by Chiang Kai-shek.
2. The USA provided over 3 billion dollars in aid to Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists, viewing them as a key ally against the spread of communism in Asia.
3. US support was rooted in the Truman Doctrine (1947) and the broader policy of containment - preventing communist expansion worldwide.
4. The KMT regime was plagued by corruption, inflation, and military incompetence, which undermined US aid and alienated the Chinese population.
5. The CCP won widespread peasant support through land reform and effective guerrilla warfare, while the KMT lost popular legitimacy.
6. By late 1948, CCP forces had won decisive victories in Manchuria and northern China, and KMT resistance collapsed rapidly.
7. On 1 October 1949, Mao proclaimed the People's Republic of China (PRC), marking a communist victory that shocked the West.
8. Chiang Kai-shek and the remnants of the KMT fled to Taiwan, where they established a rival government claiming to represent all of China.

The Marshall Mission and "Who Lost China?" (1946-1950)

1. In 1945-1947, President Truman sent General George Marshall to China to broker a coalition government between the CCP and KMT.
2. The Marshall Mission failed because neither side was willing to compromise - the CCP and KMT both sought total control.
3. Marshall himself concluded that extremists on both sides made peace impossible, and he left China in January 1947.
4. After the CCP victory, a bitter domestic debate erupted in the USA known as the "Who lost China?" controversy.
5. Republican critics accused the Truman administration of failing to provide enough support, fuelling the rise of McCarthyism and anti-communist hysteria.
6. The China White Paper (August 1949) attempted to defend US policy by blaming the KMT's own failures, but it did not satisfy critics.
7. The debate made any future US accommodation with the PRC politically impossible for two decades, locking the USA into a hostile posture.
8. The USA refused to recognise the PRC and instead maintained diplomatic relations with Chiang's government on Taiwan.

The Korean War and Sino-US Military Confrontation (1950-1953)

1. The Korean War (1950-1953) transformed Sino-US hostility from diplomatic tension into direct military confrontation.
2. When UN forces under General MacArthur advanced towards the Yalu River in October 1950, China intervened with 300,000 "volunteers".
3. Mao feared that a US-allied Korea on China's border would threaten the new PRC and undermine the revolution.
4. Chinese and American forces fought directly, with combined casualties exceeding two million, creating deep and lasting mutual hostility.