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New Working Paper Published: "The Quarrelling Brothers: New Chinese Archives and a Reappraisal of the Sino-Soviet Split, 1959-1962," by Dong Wang

Relying on newly available Chinese archival documentation, this paper challenges the conventional wisdom about the Sino-Soviet split, arguing that the conventional wisdom has underestimated China's strategic need to minimize the rift with the Soviet Union, thus misplacing the timing and origins of the split. The paper demonstrates that at least up to early 1961, Chinese leaders had repeatedly intended to repair their relationship with the Soviet Union. Contrary to the conventional argument about Mao being dogmatic and provocative in pushing Sino-Soviet relations into a downward spiral, this paper, with the help of new Chinese evidence, provides a different perspective, one which suggests that Mao and his comrades tend to be more rational and realistic than we might have thought, and far more reluctant to break with Moscow than people usually believe. It is of course not for purely ideological reasons that Beijing ardently attempted to avoid a rupture with Moscow. Rather, the new evidence shows that the Chinese leadership understood that a rupture in Sino-Soviet relations would impair China's strategic and security interests and would benefit only the United States.

Download the paper from the CWIHP webpage in the publication section.

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Cold War International History Project

The Cold War International History Project supports the full and prompt release of historical materials by governments on all sides of the Cold War. Through an award winning Digital Archive, the Project allows scholars, journalists, students, and the interested public to reassess the Cold War and its many contemporary legacies. It is part of the Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program.  Read more