Summary

This page summarises China's relations with other regional powers – Tibet, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

It asks the question: 'How far was China a superpower at Mao’s death?'

Links:

The following websites will help you complete the task:

Did Mao make China a Superpower?

• gcsehistory.org.uk

• CP Fitzgerald's verdict

This ‘agreement’, published without the knowledge of the Tibetan government, removed Tibet’s independence; it promised, however, not to change the Tibetan political system, religion or customs

A Tibetan rebellion was brutally suppressed; the Dalai Lama fled to India

The Chinese imposed Mandarin, forbade the Tibetans to grow grain or move their yak herds, and persecuted the Tibetan religion; the resultant famine killed a quarter of the population – a secret report by the Panchen Lama in 1962 accused the PRC of genocide

During the Cultural Revolution, hundreds of thousands of Tibetans were killed as 'class enemies' who opposed communism

At first, Indian policy was ‘Indians and Chinese are brothers’; the Indians signed the Panch Shila (five principles) peaceful coexistence agreement with China, and worked hard to promote cultural exchanges

When the Dalai Lama fled from Tibet, the Indian government allowed him to establish a permanent base in Sikkim, in northern India

War broke out over the disputed Himalayan province of Aksayquin when the Chinese built roads there; the Indians were defeated, but border disputes continued into the 1980s

In 1971, India made a Treaty of Friendship with the USSR; China denounced India as ‘a tool of Soviet expansionism’

Relations reached a new low when India developed nuclear missiles in the 1990s; however, although border relations remain difficult, the two countries have established extensive trade relations

The Chinese gave huge support to the North Vietnamese, but on condition that they refused all Soviet Aid

When oil was discovered in the Gulf of Tonkin, China and Vietnam clashed over claims to various islands there

The Vietnamese attacked the ethnic-Chinese Hua minority, they invaded China’s ally Cambodia in 1976, and in 1978 they signed a treaty of friendship with the USSR; China ended its aid to Vietnam

The Chinese army invaded and devastated North Vietnam – both sides suffered heavy casualties in the two-week campaign; border clashes continued through the 1980s

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, relations improved, and in 2000 China and Vietnam signed a ‘Joint Statement for Comprehensive Cooperation’ which led to extensive trade agreements

Throughout the ‘fifties, the GMD waged a guerrilla war against the PRC in northern China, supplied from Taiwan

Twice, relations across the Strait broke out into fighting; only the US fleet protected Taiwan from Chinese invasion

Seeking detente with China, the US changed its policy and the PRC became the official representative of ‘China’ at the UN

Under President Chiang Ching-kuo, Taiwan's policy was ‘no contact, no compromise, and no negotiation’

In 1992, Taiwan dropped its ‘one China’ policy, and – talking through arms-length organisations (SEF and ARATs) – the two countries moved from non-recognition to non-denial

Hong Kong was liberated by the British and Chinese in 1945; the PRC did not attempt to invade in 1949

Hong Kong grew as refugees flooded in from China – businessmen from Shanghai in 1949, starving Chinese fleeing the Great Leap Forward; Hong Kong's industry and trade grew

During the Cultural Revolution, Mao encouraged Hong Kong communists and there were 6 months of strikes, rioting and terrorist bombings; Zhou Enlai, however, forbade an invasion, and Hong Kong survived

As the end of Britain’s lease neared, to prevent economic panic, the British government promised to return Hong Kong to China, on the assurance that China’s ‘one country, two systems’ policy would preserve Hong Kong’s business and freedom

Last British Governor Chris Patten handed over Hong Kong peacefully to China; Hing Kong helped to stimulate China’s economic revolution

In 1971, China became a member of the UN security Council, giving it a veto on UN decisions

The Chinese had had the hydrogen bomb since 1967 and were a major nuclear power

The growing ‘normalisation’ of relations with the USA after the Shanghai Communique of 1972 greatly increased China’s prestige

Many countries depended on Chinese aid and support, notably Chile and a number of states in Africa, where Zhou Enlai made a ten-country tour in 1963; by 1980, China did $1billion trade with Africa

China was economically powerful, but income per head was still limited – compared to the western world, it was still economically less-developed

Relations remained hostile until the collapse of the USSR, after which China established trade and diplomatic relations with Russia, culminating in the Good-Neighbourliness Treaty of 2001

Relations reached a new low when India developed nuclear missiles in the 1990s; however, although border relations remain difficult, the two countries have established extensive trade relations

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, relations improved, and in 2000 China and Vietnam signed a ‘Joint Statement for Comprehensive Cooperation’ which led to extensive trade agreements

In the ‘1992 Consensus’, Taiwan dropped its ‘one China’ policy, and – talking through arms-length organisations (SEF and ARATs) – the two countries moved from non-recognition to non-denial

The 1979 Joint Communique marked the formal establishment of diplomatic relations with the USA, and China now regularly holds Strategic Economic Dialogue talks with the US to discuss relations