Relations between The Soviet Union and China in the 1980s

In the 21st century, the interaction between the two largest actors in contemporary international relations – Russia and China – is characterized by a wide range of areas of cooperation, including contacts at the highest level, strategic partnership, and joint participation in large-scale international and regional organizations such as BRICS and the SCO. However, the history of Russian-Chinese relations and, in historical retrospect, of Soviet-Chinese relations has been characterized by both cooperation and confrontation in different historical periods. Of particular interest is the normalization of Soviet-Chinese relations in the 1980s after the diplomatic conflict that began in the late 1950s. The relevance of this study lies in the fact that the normalization of Soviet-Chinese relations had an important impact not only on the fate of the two countries, the Soviet Union and the PRC, but also determined the outcome of the Cold War. An analysis of the prerequisites for the normalization of Soviet-Chinese relations in the 1980s, the process itself, and the main problems encountered by the two states on this way represent the focus of the proposed publication. The study identifies the turning points of history in the restoration of Sino-Soviet relations. A special place is given to the meeting held on May 18, 1989 in Beijing, which was attended by the heads of both countries: Mikhail Gorbachev and Deng Xiaoping. As a result, a "Joint Sino-Soviet Communiqué" appeared, the main ideas of which are presented and analyzed in the publication. This study details the genesis of the "three obstacles" concept put forward by Deng Xiaoping: Vietnam's withdrawal from Cambodia, Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the reduction of the Soviet military presence on China's northern borders. These "three obstacles" have long prevented the normalization of relations between Moscow and Beijing. For a better understanding of the course of events, the author has studied and presented the memories of eyewitnesses: Deputy Foreign Minister (from 1988 – Minister of Foreign Affairs) Qian Qicheng, as well as the famous Chinese diplomat Li Jingxiang. The turnaround in Soviet-Chinese relations and the rapprochement between the two countries was primarily dictated by mutual political and economic benefits: the conflict between China and the United States over military aid to Taiwan, the arms race imposed by the United States on the Soviet Union, China's interest in modernizing Chinese industry by specialists from our country, and mutually beneficial trade relations between the two states. In addition, it is concluded that the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which henceforth should guide both countries in their foreign policy activities allowed them to concentrate on solving domestic tasks and building up social and economic potential.