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The Soviet Union and China in the 1980s: reconciliation and divorce

Zubok, Vladislav (2017) The Soviet Union and China in the 1980s: reconciliation and divorce. Cold War History, 17 (2). pp. 121-141. ISSN 1468-2745

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Identification Number: 10.1080/14682745.2017.1315923

Abstract

This article discusses Soviet and Chinese reforms and foreign policies in the 1980s in comparative perspective, in the light of recent archival findings. Ideological rivalry, the main driver of the Sino-Soviet tensions, disappeared and new interests of Beijing and Moscow pushed the two communist countries towards normalisation of relations. The role of geopolitics, security interests, and memories of the past played the role in the Sino-Soviet relations, but this role was secondary to the strategies of reforms and modernisation. Ultimately, the reformist aspirations in both countries pulled them towards the US-led global capitalist system, not towards each other. The article argues that key policy choices by Deng Xiaoping and Mikhail Gorbachev, which made possible China’s rise and the Soviet Union’s collapse, can be better understood in the comparative perspective.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/fcwh20/current
Additional Information: © 2017 Informa UK Limited
Divisions: International History
Subjects: D History General and Old World > DK Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics
D History General and Old World > DS Asia
J Political Science > JZ International relations
Date Deposited: 02 Jun 2017 15:24
Last Modified: 26 Mar 2024 20:00
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/79133

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