1949 Communist Revolution in China

On October 1, 1949, Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong declared the development of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The announcement ended the full-scale civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Nationalist Party, or perhaps the Kuomintang (KMT), which broke out shortly after World War II and was preceded by internal and external conflicts. between the 2 sides since the 1920s. The development of the People’s Republic of China also led to the very long practice of government agitation in China started by the Chinese Revolution of 1911. The “fall” of mainland China to communism in 1949 led to United States to suspend diplomatic connections with the People’s Republic of China for many years.

The Chinese Communist Party, created in 1921 in Shanghai, initially existed as an analysis team operating within the confines of the first United Front with the Nationalist Party. Chinese Communists joined the Nationalist Army in the Northern Expedition of 1926-27 to rid the nation of warlords who prevented the development of good central government. This collaboration continued until the “White Terror” of 1927, when the Nationalists attacked the Communists, killing them or perhaps driving them out of the party.

After the Japanese invaded Manchuria in 1931, the ROC government experienced the triple threat of warlord insurrections, communist uprising, and Japanese invasion. Disappointed by Nationalist leader Chiang Kai Shek’s emphasis on internal threats rather than Japanese assault, a team of generals kidnapped Chiang in 1937 and forced him to reconsider cooperation with the communist army. As with the first attempt at cohesion between the nationalist authorities and also the CCP, this Second United Front was short-lived. The Nationalists spent the necessary materials containing the Communists, instead of focusing entirely on Japan, although the Communists worked to improve the influence of their own in rural society.

During World War II, popular support for the Communists improved. US officials in China noted a dictatorial suppression of dissent in Nationalist-controlled areas. These undemocratic policies, coupled with the crisis of the war, weakened the ROC government in the face of the communist threat. The CCP, for its part, experienced success in early land reform efforts and was praised by peasants for its tireless efforts to repel the Japanese invaders.

The Japanese surrender sets the stage for the resurgence of civil war in China. Although only nominally democratic, Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government continued to command US support as its former battle ally and when it was the only option to stop Communist influence in China. US forces brought large numbers of Nationalist Chinese troops into Japanese-held territory and made it possible for them to surrender. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union occupied Manchuria and withdrew when Chinese Communist forces were in position in that territory.

In 1945, the forerunners of the Communist and Nationalist parties, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, met for a series of talks on the development of a post-war government. Both agreed on the value of democracy, a single army and equality for those Chinese political parties. However, the truce was tenuous, and despite repeated efforts by US General George Marshall to reach an agreement, by 1946 the two sides were waging an all-out civil war. Many years of mistrust between the two sides frustrated attempts to create a coalition government.

As the civil war continued from 1947 to 1949, eventual communist victory seemed more and more likely. Although the Communists did not control some major urban areas after World War II, they had powerful grassroots support, outstanding military business and morale, and large stockpiles of weapons seized from Japanese resources in Manchuria. Many years of corruption and mismanagement had eroded popular support for the Nationalist Government. In early 1947, the ROC government today wanted the island province of Taiwan, off the coast of Fujian province, as a possible point of retreat. Although Truman administration officials were unconvinced of the strategic value to the United States of maintaining partnerships with Nationalist China, it was necessary to task one in the US government with facilitating the “loss” of China to Communism. . Financial and military aid to the faltering Nationalists continued, though not in the amount Chiang Kai Shek would have liked. In October 1949, after a series of army victories, Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China; Chiang and his forces fled to Taiwan to regroup and try to retake the mainland.

The ability of the United States and the PRC to seek common ground after the establishment of the new Chinese state was affected by both domestic politics and international tensions. In August 1949, the Truman administration printed the “China White Paper”, which explained previous American policy toward China based primarily on the concept that only Chinese forces could determine the ultimate outcome of their civil war. Unfortunately for Truman, this phase failed to shield his administration from the costs of owning “lost” China. The incomplete dynamic of the revolution, creating a broken, exiled and vocal Nationalist Army and Government in Taiwan, increased the feeling among US anti-communists that the ultimate outcome of the struggle could change. The outbreak of the Korean War, which pitted the United States and the People’s Republic of China on opposite sides of a global conflict, put an end to some trade opportunities agreed between the People’s Republic of China and the United States. Truman’s drive to prevent the Korean conflict from spreading south led to the US policy of saving Chiang Kai-shek’s government in Taiwan.

For more than 20 years after the Chinese revolution of 1949, there were various contacts, limited exchanges, and absolutely no diplomatic connections between the two nations. Until the 1970s, the United States continued to create the Republic of China, put Taiwan as the real authorities of China, and supported that government in maintaining Chinese control of the United Nations.