The 1950 treaty bound China to the USSR, and Soviet aid helped build China's industry, but the partners were never equals.
In February 1950, Mao and Stalin signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance. Each promised to help the other if attacked by Japan or its allies, meaning the USA. China received a loan of 300 million US dollars. Stalin kept special rights in Manchuria for a few more years.
The Korean War deepened cooperation. China fought, while the USSR supplied weapons and some air cover. But Mao resented that Stalin avoided open combat and that China had to pay for Soviet arms.
In the 1950s, Soviet aid transformed Chinese industry. Thousands of Soviet experts helped build around 150 major industrial projects, and China copied the Soviet model of five-year plans. In 1957 the USSR even agreed to help China develop nuclear weapons.
Yet the alliance was unequal. China was the junior partner, and Mao, the leader of a huge revolution, did not accept being treated as one. After Stalin's death in 1953, Mao saw himself as a senior figure in world communism.
- Sino-Soviet Treaty
- February 1950: mutual defence and a 300 million dollar loan.
- Soviet aid
- Around 150 major projects and thousands of experts in the 1950s.
- Nuclear help
- 1957 agreement, cancelled in 1959.
Worked example: Explaining cooperation in the early 1950s
Why did China ally with the USSR?
- Ideology: a shared communist outlook and hostility to capitalism.
- Security: protection against the USA, especially over Taiwan and Korea.
- Development: Soviet aid and experts to industrialise China.
- Limits: inequality and Mao's pride were sources of later strain.
Watch out for this
The Sino-Soviet alliance was a partnership of equals.
China was the junior partner and dependent on Soviet aid. Mao resented this, which later fuelled the split.
Check your understanding
What did China gain from the 1950 treaty?
- A Soviet promise of protection and a loan
- Control of Soviet territory in Siberia
- A seat on the UN Security Council