Was China to blame for the Sino-Soviet split?

Was China to blame for the Sino-Soviet split?

1. The Taiwan crises of 1954 and 1958 increased tensions between China and USSR

2. Mao thought he was superior to Khrushchev when Stalin died

3. Active Defence - said China wouldn't allow Soviets to be aggressive towards them (even though they were aggressive to Russia)

   • 1966 Ussuri River dispute - Chinese attack Russians

4. Mao to Khrushchev - "you are a paper tiger" (you're weak, moving away from pure communist beliefs)

5. 1964 - Khrushchev offered to concede Damansky Island on the Ussuri River to avoid border trouble. Mao said Russia had to give it to China because they felt intimidated. This angered Khrushchev + he withdrew his offer

6. Brezhnev (1964-1982) made no attempt to rebuild relations with China

7. N. Korea and N.Vietnam - Russia went out of its way to befriend these countries and isolate China

   • China's response = did the same with Albania and Romania

8. Khrushchev's Secret Speech (1956) - criticised Stalin

   • Could be argued he purposefully did this to provoke Mao
     • Mao hated 'destalinisation' + criticised Khrushchev as a revisionist

9. It was the USSR that cancelled the Sino-Soviet agreement on atomic cooperation (June 1959)

10. Mao attacks Soviet Union as revisionists, 1968 (particularly during Cultural Revolution - 1966-76)

    • 1967 Chinese Red Guards invaded Russian embassy in Beijing

11. increasing independent actions of the CCP from the Soviets

12. Khrushchev's policy of 'peaceful coexistence' angered Mao

13. Rivalry concerning overlapping spheres of influence in central Asia (e.g Mongolia)

14. Territorial disputes over 2738 mile shared border

15. Soviets refused to share nuclear secrets

16. At the heart of the split was China's struggle to become a world power + the Soviet Union's determination to prevent it