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Admin moved page How did the United States react to the Chinese Revolution of 1949? to How did the United States react to the Chinese Revolution of 1949
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[[File:Mao proclaiming the establishment of the PRC in 1949.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px350px|Mao proclaiming the creation of the People's Republic of China in 1949]]
On October 1, 1949, Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The announcement ended the costly full-scale civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT), which broke out immediately following World War II and had been preceded by on and off conflict between the two sides since the 1920s. The creation of the PRC also completed the long process of governmental upheaval in China begun by the Chinese Revolution of 1911. The “fall” of mainland China to communism in 1949 led the United States to suspend diplomatic ties with the PRC for decades.
During World War II, popular support for the Communists increased. U.S. officials in China reported a dictatorial suppression of dissent in Nationalist-controlled areas. These undemocratic policies combined with wartime corruption made the Republic of China Government vulnerable to the Communist threat. The CCP, for its part, experienced success in its early efforts at land reform and was lauded by peasants for its unflagging efforts to fight against the Japanese invaders.
====After defeating the Japanese - Civil War breaks out in 19461945====[[File:Shangtang.jpg|thumbnail|left|350px|Picture of Troops fighting during the Shangdang Campaign between the KMT and Chinese Communists in 1945. The Shangdang Campaign was the first time that the Communist Army successfully used conventional military tactics (as opposed to guerilla tactics) against the KMT]]
Japanese surrender set the stage for the resurgence of civil war in China. Though only nominally democratic, the Nationalist Government of Chiang Kai-shek continued to receive U.S. support both as its former war ally and as the sole option for preventing Communist control of China. U.S. forces flew tens of thousands of Nationalist Chinese troops into Japanese-controlled territory and allowed them to accept the Japanese surrender. The Soviet Union, meanwhile, occupied Manchuria and only pulled out when Chinese Communist forces were in place to claim that territory.
In 1945, the leaders of the Nationalist and Communist parties, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, met for a series of talks on the formation of a post-war government. Both agreed on the importance of democracy, a unified military, and equality for all Chinese political parties. The truce was tenuous, however, and, in spite of repeated efforts by U.S. General George Marshall to broker an agreement, by 1946 the two sides were fighting an all-out civil war. Years of mistrust between the two sides thwarted efforts to form a coalition government.
As the civil war gained strength from 1947 to 1949, eventual Communist victory seemed more and more likely. Although the Communists did not hold any major cities after World War II, they had strong grassroots support, superior military organization and morale, and large stocks of weapons seized from Japanese supplies in Manchuria. Years of corruption and mismanagement had eroded popular support for the Nationalist Government. Early in 1947, the ROC Government was already looking to the island province of Taiwan, off the coast of Fujian Province, as a potential point of retreat.
====Nationalist government fled to Taiwan and American Policy towards China Flailed====
====Conclusion====
For more than twenty years after the Chinese revolution of 1949, there were few contacts, limited trade and no diplomatic ties between the two countries. Until the 1970s, the United States continued to recognize the Republic of China, located in Taiwan, as China’s true government and supported that government’s holding the Chinese seat in the United Nations.
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* Republished from [https://history.state.gov/| Office of the Historian, United States Department of State]
* Article: [https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/chinese-rev| The Chinese Revolution of 1949]
[[Category:US State Department]] [[Category:Wikis]][[Category:United States History]] [[Category: Chinese History]] [[Category:20th Century History]] [[Category:Political History]] [[Category:Diplomatic History]]
