China and the Vietnam Wars, 1950-1975

Description

In the quarter century after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Beijing assisted Vietnam in its struggle against two formidable foes, France and the United States. Indeed, the rise and fall of this alliance is one of the most crucial developments in the history of the Cold War in Asia. Drawing on newly released Chinese archival sources, memoirs and diaries, and documentary collections, Qiang Zhai offers the first comprehensive exploration of Beijing's Indochina policy and the historical, domestic, and international contexts within which it developed. In examining China's conduct toward Vietnam, Zhai provides important insights into Mao Zedong's foreign policy and the ideological and geopolitical motives behind it. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he shows, Mao considered the United States the primary threat to the security of the recent Communist victory in China and therefore saw support for Ho Chi Minh as a good way to weaken American influence in Southeast Asia. In the late 1960s and 1970s, however, when Mao perceived a greater threat from the Soviet Union, he began to adjust his policies and encourage the North Vietnamese to accept a peace agreement with the United States. Recensie(s) Fair-minded, clearly written, and deeply researched, Zhai's study supersedes all previous works on the subject . Journal of Military History Front Cover Half Title Page Full Title Page Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Contents Maps, Illustrations, and Tables Foreword Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Archival Sources Published Documentary Collections Memoirs and Diaries Secondary Writings Notes 1. Recognition and Assistance, 1950-1953 Early Contacts Between Ho Chi Minh and the CCP Recognition of the DRV Mao's Motives Chen Geng and the Border Campaign Setbacks and Reorganization in 1951 The Northwest Campaign The 1953 Land Reform Notes 2. From Dien Bien Phu to Geneva, 1953-1954 Confronting the Navarre Plan Siege of Dien Bien Phu Zhou Enlai and the Geneva Conference Assessing China's Role in the First Indochina War Notes 3. Consolidation and Unification, 1954-1961 Endorsing Neutralism in Laos and Cambodia Meeting Hanoi's Demands The Land Reform Backfires Reunification Revival of Insurgency in South Vietnam Ho and the Sino-Soviet Dispute, 1960-1961 Notes 4. The Geneva Conference on Laos, 1961-1962 Crisis in Laos Sihanouk Calls For A Geneva Conference Chen Yi Takes Charge Sino-Soviet Interactions at Geneva Sino-Vietnamese Relations at the Conference Assessing China's Role at the Laos Conference Notes 5. Deeper Entanglement, 1961-1964 Policy Debate in Zhongnanhai Challenges and Opportunities The CCP Work Team in Sam Neua Leaning Toward China in the Sino-Soviet Rift Notes 6. Confronting U.S. Escalation, 1964-1965 The Gulf of Tonkin Incident and After Mao's Complex Calculations Sense of Insecurity Commitment to National Liberation Movements Criticism of Soviet Revisionism Domestic Need to Transform the Chinese State and Society Sino-Vietnamese Discords Was China Bluffing During the Vietnam War? Notes 7. Vietnam Peace Talks, 1965-1968 China's Objection to Peace Negotiations Sino-Vietnamese Differences Over Peace Talks Effects of China's Actions Notes 8. From Tet to Cambodia, 1968-1970 The Tet Offensive Chinese Road-Building in Northern Laos Mao's Strategic Readjustment Crisis over Cambodia Notes 9. Sino-U.S. Rapprochment and Vietnam, 1970-1975 Resumption of the Sino-U.S. Dialogue The Spring Offensive of 1972 Cease-Fire in Laos Drifting Further Apart Notes Conclusion: The Duality of China's Policy The Dynamics of the Sino-DRV Alliance A Clash of Two Visions Broader Implications Notes Notes Abbreviations INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER ElGHT CHAPTER NINE CONCLUSION Bibliography CHINESE-LANGUAGE SOURCES Archives Party History Journals Books and Articles ENGLISH -LANGUAGE SOURCES Archives Oral History Interviews Government Documents Books, Articles, and Papers Index A-C D-G H-J K-L M N-P Q-S T-V W-Z