Question #84e39

1 Answer
Apr 26, 2016

It was both ideological and historical.

Explanation:

Although both China and the Soviet Union could, in the past, be described as communist, their interpretation of communism can be seen as different.

The main difference was that Marxism/Leninism and Stalinism saw communism as being achieved by a revolution based on the industrial proletariat; whereas Maoism was based on the belief that the revolution would be agrarian, based on the peasantry.

Mao also felt threatened when at the 20th Party Congress, in 1956 Khruschev denounced Stalin and began a period of reform which Mao felt undermined progress towards the achievement of communism.

It is also the case that they are two huge players on the world stage and there has been a history of border clashes in the past, particularly along the Amur river. This was noticeably the case in the late 1960's. when the two countries almost went to war.