Cultural Revolution 1966-76 - 20. Foreign Affairs

Question 1

Between 1966-76 what were Chinese relations like with Developing Nations in Africa and Asia?

Answer 1

• 1967 British + Indonesian Embacies in Bejing were burned down and diplomats badly beaten
• Attempts were made to export the revolution, so Chinese diplomats in Sri Lanka, Kenya and Nepal were expelled for trying to spread the little red book
• Zhou Enlai cracked down on this in 1967 by regaining control, settling disputes of activities from Chinese diplomats abroad and sought to restore China’s image

Question 2

Between 1966-76 what were Chinese relations like with the USSR?

Answer 2

• 1969 fighting broke out on Zhenbao island which bordered USSR which was initiated by China more specifically Lin Biao to highlight the importance of him + PLA – led to China being exiled from the island
• Another border clash in Xinjiang meant that soviet PM visited Beijing in 1969 to discuss this, no agreements were met but did leave to better terms than before and helped avoid all-out war between the 2
• This highlighted the biggest threat from the USSR and effected the ‘third line’ policy which costed lots, showed China needed to have better relations with USA to counterweight the soviet threat.

Question 3

Between 1966-76 what were Sino-USA relations like?

Answer 3

• Alongside the relations with USSR, Daqing oil fields meant that China needed technical expertise + more advanced technology to better access natural resources
• Ping Pong Diplomacy – in 1971 the US national team travelled to China to play in a tournament which helped re-establish connections + helped lift trade ban on China
• Nixon’s visit in 1972 agreed that China would take Taiwan’s seat at the UN + start more foreign trade + scientific research, also helped reach better terms with west e.g. NZ, West Germany, Canada + Australia