Why communist China did not become part of the USSR after World War II

After World War II and the victory over Japan, Soviet troops temporarily occupied large areas of China. At the same time, the leadership of the USSR continued to provide enormous support to the leader of the PRC, Mao Zedong.

Against this background, many people wonder why communist China, similar in ideology, did not become part of the Soviet Union after the end of World War II? It is worth noting that there were a number of good reasons for this.



The first is the threat of a third world war. As you know, since 1946, the United States and the Soviet Union entered into a geopolitical confrontation called the Cold War.

In turn, if the PRC became part of the USSR, this would seriously upset the post-war balance, because our country would occupy colossal territories - from Germany to Vietnam and India. Ultimately, with great probability, the outcome of such a decision would have been a new world conflict, in which at that time none of the parties was interested.

However, that's not all. At the end of the 40s of the last century, the population of China had already reached more than half a billion people. At the same time, the population of the entire USSR was 179 million people.

Such an imbalance would inevitably lead to cultural expansion on the part of the PRC. Within a short time, the Chinese would become the titular nation of the Soviet Union, and many peoples inhabiting the USSR could lose their identity altogether.

A similar situation would be observed in policy. Indeed, in the event of the death of the leader of the CPSU Central Committee, it would most likely be headed by a representative from China. The Soviet leadership was well aware of this, especially given the high political ambitions of Mao Zedong.

By the way, about the last one. In some sources you can find information that the Chinese leader proposed to the leadership of the USSR to unite. However, these data are most likely not true.

The thing is that when Mao Zedong announced the creation of the People's Republic of China, his slogan was “China has risen.” The new regime promised its people freedom from external dependence. Consequently, it is unlikely that the rulers of China then wanted to become part of another country.