9. WORLD COMMUNISM AND
THE PEACE MOVEMENT
The Kremlin used the world’s communist parties in its efforts to try
and achieve its global goals. This was a difficult process after the
USSR’s split with the People’s Republic of China in 1960, when the
Chinese offered themselves as a magnet attracting disaffected Marxist-
Leninist parties and groups. Beijing in fact attracted only one commu-
nist state, Albania, to its side. Unable to match the USSR in economic
resources and global military power, China was more an irritant than
a threat. But its absence from the occasional world conferences held in
Moscow made plain that the Kremlin was no longer unchallenged in
the ‘world communist movement’. Gromyko impugned the Chinese
for showing no interest in the ‘normalization’ of relations with the
USSR and preferring to stand allied with America. There seemed to be
no prospect of improved links between Moscow and Beijing.^1 Brezh-
nev gave a speech in Tashkent in March 1982 which was character-
istically polemical in tone; but it did at least recognize China as a
socialist country and accept its right to sovereignty over Taiwan. The
Chinese noted this with satisfaction. They concluded that the Soviet
leadership was seeking to moderate its difficulties with Beijing when
the Afghan war was going poorly for Moscow. Deng declined to reply
either positively or negatively. He felt he could bide his time.^2
Deng was angry about Reagan’s support for Taiwan during the
presidential campaign of 1980, and Reagan felt the need to dispatch
his vice presidential running mate George Bush to allay Beijing’s
suspicion. This failed to reassure Deng, who spat into his spittoon
whenever Bush mentioned Reagan by name. (Deng had obviously
thought he had not made enough of a point by crumpling the letter
that Bush handed over from Reagan.)^3 Despite his diminutive stature,
Deng succeeded in demonstrating that he and his country expect-
ed to be treated as titans.^4 Reagan increasingly followed the line that