Chinese Civil War, 1945-1950
The Chinese Civil War, 1945-1950, fought between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Nationalist Party (GMD), was a defining conflict for China, East Asia, and the world. The Civil War was marked by a number of large battles and campaigns and the involvement of both the United States and the Soviet Union. The victory of the CCP and the founding of the People's Republic of China in October 1949 shifted the balance of power in the emerging Cold War. For other collections on China’s modern political history, see: Purges in 1950s China; China’s Great Leap Forward, 1958-1961; China’s Cultural Revolution, 1966-1976; Reform and Opening in China, 1978-; and China, 1989. (Image: Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong met in Chongqing in 1945.
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May 31, 1944
Letter No. 180 from L.D. Wilgress, Canadian Embassy, Moscow, to the Secretary of State for External Affairs, W.L. Mackenzie King
Fu Bingchang (Foo Ping-sheung) relays his views on relations among the Great Powers, Soviet involvement in Xinjiang, and the rifts between the Nationalists and Communists within China.
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May 01, 1945
The Communist Party of China over the Last 10 Years: A Secret Brochure of the GMD Issued on 1 May 1945
The Chinese Nationalist Party (Guomindang) offers an historical overview of its military and political struggle with the Chinese Communist Party, while also summarizing the international contacts of the CCP since 1935.
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October 30, 1945
Telegram, Molotov to Cde. Stalin
Draft reply to Malinovsky concerning Soviet troops in Manchuria, including instructions to avoid responsibilities for the security of Manchuria; allow the Chinese government's representatives to land at Huludao and Yingkou; allow the Chinese planes to land at Fengtian and Changchun
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November 16, 1945
Antonov to Marshal Malinovsky, the Commanding General of the Transbaykal-Amur Military District
Soviet General Aleksei Antonov informs Marshal Malinovsky and V. M. Molotov that the People's Commissar of Defense has ordered Soviet troops to maintain good relations with the Republic of China and avoid letting the Chinese communists draw the Soviet Union into confrontation with the United States.
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November 16, 1945
Note to the Soviet Ambassador in China
Letter to the Soviet Ambassador in China instructing him to present a note to Chinese Minister Wang Shijie assuring him that the Soviets are upholding and will continue to uphold the Soviet-Chinese agreement and are providing no assistance to the Chinese communists.
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June 04, 1946
Memorandum of Conversation, Soviet Ambassador to China A.A. Petrov with Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Shijie, 1 June 1946
Wang Shijie presented a draft of suggestions from the Chinese side about economic collaboration in Manchuria, as a proposal. This includes common mine excavations and the Chinese right to use Japanese enterprises in the former occupied Manchuria until the disagreement over the distribution of enemy property confiscated during the war was settled.
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August 06, 1946
Talk with the American Correspondent Anna Louise Strong
Mao Zedong says that "all reactionaries are paper tigers" and discusses the Chinese Civil War. He also introduces the theory of the "intermediate zone," when he states that "the United States and the Soviet Union are separated by a vast zone which includes many capitalist, colonial and semi-colonial countries in Europe, Asia and Africa."
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December 17, 1947
Cable, Terebin to Stalin [via Kuznetsov]
Terebin (Andrei Orlov) returns Kuznetsov's (Stalin) cable concerning a visit to Moscow by Mao. Terebin gives Mao's response to the invitation and tells of a discussion that took place between himself and Mao after Stalin's message was relayed.