Zhihua Shen – författare

Today, the People’s Republic of China is North Korea’s only ally on the world stage, a tightly knit relationship that goes back decades. Both countries portray their partnership as one of “brotherly affection” based on shared political ideals—an alliance “as tight as lips to teeth”—even though relations have deteriorated in recent years due to China’s ascendance and North Korea’s intransigence.In A Misunderstood Friendship, leading diplomatic historians Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia draw on previously untapped primary source materials revealing tensions and rivalries to offer a unique account of the China–North Korea relationship. They unravel the twists and turns in high-level diplomacy between China and North Korea from the late 1940s to the death of Mao Zedong in 1976. Based on unprecedented access to Chinese government documents, Soviet and Eastern European archives, and in-depth interviews with former Chinese diplomats and North Korean defectors, Shen and Xia reveal that the tensions that currently plague the alliance between the two countries have been present from the very beginning of the relationship. They significantly revise existing narratives of the Korean War, China’s postwar aid to North Korea, Kim Il-sung’s ideological and strategic thinking, North Korea’s relations with the Soviet Union, and the importance of the Sino-U.S. rapprochement, among other issues. A Misunderstood Friendship adds new depth to our understanding of one of the most secretive and significant relationships of the Cold War, with increasing relevance to international affairs today.

Based on Chinese archival documents, interviews, and more than twenty years of research on the subject, Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia offer a comprehensive look at the Sino-Soviet alliance between the end of the World War II and 1959, when the alliance was left in disarray as a result of foreign and domestic policies. This book is a reevaluation of the history of this alliance and is the first book published in English to examine it from a Chinese perspective.

Based on Chinese archival documents, interviews, and more than twenty years of research on the subject, Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia offer a comprehensive look at the Sino-Soviet alliance between the end of the World War II and 1959, when the alliance was left in disarray as a result of foreign and domestic policies. This book is a reevaluation of the history of this alliance and is the first book published in English to examine it from a Chinese perspective.

Drawing on the rich trove of recently declassified Russian and Chinese archival materials, this history of Sino-Soviet relations in the 20th century sheds new light on key events during this period. It offers fresh insights into the role of ideology and national interests in the evolution of the complex and turbulent relationship between not just the two countries but also their respective Communist Parties. The chapters on the normalization of bilateral ties provide an in-depth analysis of divisions in the socialist camp that culminated in both its collapse and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The book argues that 20th century Sino-Soviet relations reflected both long-standing and emerging political and geopolitical challenges facing members of the Cold War socialist camp, in particular tensions between the ideal of internationalism and national aspirations, between commitment to the principle of sovereignty and commitment to that of equality in international relations, and between inter-party relations and inter-state relations. This makes for a valuable addition to the reading lists of all those interested in the development of the relationship between two of the world’s most important countries.