China\'s Quest. The History of the Foreign Relations of the People\'s Republic of China - John Garver

The Sino-Soviet Schism } 121

days to produce a draft of another manifesto on the dictatorship of the prole-
tariat. Two more afternoons going over the document with Mao followed, then
discussion by an expanded Politburo. Mao then gave the document one final
read-through, making detailed comments. Then, for two more days, expanded
sessions of the Politburo deliberated the much-revised document. Mao per-
sonally guided the entire process. The amount of energy spent in working out
these ideological statements indicates their profound significance in the mind
of Mao, and probably other CCP leaders as well. Finally, the result was issued
on December 29, 1956, under the rubric of a Renmin ribao editorial entitled
“More on the Historical Experience of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.”^17
The CCP December Stalinist manifesto was twice as long as the one in April. It
explained the Hungarian people’s longing for freedom and national indepen-
dence as a function of imperialist aggression:

The activities of the imperialists in the Hungarian affair of October

1956 marked the gravest attack launched by them against the socialist

DENMARK

EAST

GEWERMANSTY GERMANY

AUSTRIA

HUNGARY

YUGOSLAVIA

ALBANIA

TURKEY

BULGARIA

ROMANIA

POLAND

ITALY

GREECE

USSR

CZEC

HOSLOVAKIA

Warsaw

Prague

Budapest

Belgrade

Bucharest

Tirane

Berlin

1956: Urge Soviet armed

intervention to oust non-

Communist government,

and reinstall Communist

dictatorship.

1956: Encourage Soviets not

to intervene to oust nationalist

Communist government.

1956: Encourage Moscow to

authorize arms sale to Egypt.

1953: Support Soviet

repression of worker riots.

1960s: Close relationship with

Stalinist nationalist regime

that balances between Beijing

and Moscow.

1958: Albania aligns with CCP on

destalinization and peaceful

coexistence. Stands by CCP

as polemic with CPSU escalates

in 1960. PRC assists when Moscow

cuts aid. China’s closest ideological

ally through Cultural Revolution.

Reject Mao’s pragmatic opening

to the U.S. in the 1970s.

1948–1953: Polemicize against Tito split

with Moscow.

Jan. 1955: Establish diplomatic relations

at ambassadorial level.

1956–1960: Polemicize against Tito as

surrogate for Khrushchev’s “revisionism”.

F IGU R E 5-1 China’s Position in the East European Socialist Camp, 1956–1977