During the Cold War in the 20th century, the United States and the Soviet Union, the two major powers on the earth, established two military alliances, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, respectively, in order to deal with each other's military threats.
These two military alliances have been pitting each other against each other in Europe for almost fifty years, and although there is no direct military conflict, any movement will attract the attention of the whole world. In the diplomatic history of New China, although it has never joined any party, it has been inextricably linked with the Warsaw Pact and NATO in different historical periods.
In the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China, China maintained close relations with the socialist camp led by the Soviet Union. However, with the changes in the world situation, China's relationship with the Warsaw Pact has gradually drifted apart, and in the late 70s and early 80s of the last century, it gradually became closer to the US-led NATO.
At that time, there were even rumors that the United States wanted China to formally join NATO, and was willing to provide a large amount of military assistance, giving 90% of its equipment to China for free. You must know that joining NATO means that you can get military support from the entire Western bloc in times of war, which is undoubtedly a very attractive proposal for China, which was still under the threat of strong force from the Soviet Union at that time.
However, in the face of such favorable conditions, China finally chose to refuse, and there was a fierce quarrel with the United States during the process. So, what exactly led China to make such a decision?
Today, we're going to talk about the story behind the honeymoon period between China and the United States.
The establishment of the honeymoon period between China and the United States went through the tortuous process of the Korean War and Nixon's visit to China, and it was not until 1979 that the two countries formally established diplomatic relations. Despite Nixon's visit to Beijing in 1972, the two countries did not immediately establish diplomatic relations, largely due to changes in the world and within the two countries.
The communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries was released on January 1, and at the end of this month, at the invitation of Carter, he crossed the Pacific Ocean to visit the United States, which started a rapid warming of relations between the two countries.
Although China and the United States have experienced many negotiations in the early days of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two sides are very familiar with each other. On this basis, high-level visits are becoming more frequent. Against this background, an important topic has surfaced, and that is military cooperation.
At that time, China was under a powerful military threat, and both sides felt enormous military pressure. Since 1978, the Soviet Union has deployed a large number of advanced ** on the Sino-Soviet border, including the latest MiG-27 fighter jets and SS-20 medium-range missiles.
In addition, the Soviet Union also conducted large-scale joint exercises in Northeast Asia, and even Brezhnev personally inspected it, and conducted exercises on the Sino-Soviet border conflict just 25 kilometers from the border.
During that period, the Soviet Union repeatedly sent planes to violate the airspace of Heilongjiang Province, sent ** to invade Chinese waters, and directly sent patrol soldiers into the Chinese river banks, resulting in injuries to local residents.
At the same time, Vietnam in the south also responded to the deployment of the Soviet Union and constantly made small moves. In addition to taking control of Laos and invading Cambodia, they began a mass expulsion of the Chinese population on the northern border, even in the face of Chinese warnings.
In just two years, Vietnam drove more than 70,000 overseas Chinese back to China and confiscated all their property. This large-scale anti-China campaign led to a rapid deterioration in Sino-Vietnamese relations and a serious threat to China on its southwestern border.
Under the pressure of the Soviet Union's global expansion, the United States felt a little weak to deal with it and urgently needed China's assistance to counter the Soviet Union. Thus, practical interests brought the two countries together, and the United States had begun to provide military support to China before the formal establishment of diplomatic relations.
In 1978, the United States privately informed NATO allies that exports to China were at the discretion of each country, and there was no need to seek the advice of the United States. This effectively means that the United States encourages countries to provide China as soon as possible**.
Britain and France have established diplomatic relations with China and have been looking to export ** to China for foreign exchange. However, because the British and French** mostly had American-made parts or technology, they did not dare to act on their own.
Now that Big Brother of the United States has approved the move, the biggest obstacle has been removed.
Carter sent science and technology adviser Pres to Beijing and invited representatives of US high-tech agencies, including the head of the US space program, to publicly express his intention to cooperate militarily with China.
Despite the discontent that this caused in the USSR, the United States ** perfunctorily passed it on various grounds. Initially, there were disagreements within the United States about supporting the construction of China, and the pressure from Congress once made Carter hesitate.
However, a sudden war hastened the improvement of Sino-US relations.
On December 29, 1979, the Soviet invasion made the United States feel a serious threat. As a result, Carter realized the need to step up support for China in order to curb the Soviet Union's expansionist momentum.
Diplomatically, the United States reacted quickly, rallying Western countries to boycott the Moscow Olympics and extending an olive branch to China. In 1980, the United States lifted the ban on nearly 30 types of military equipment, allowing these equipment to be exported to China, including air defense radars, radio communication equipment, tropospheric communication equipment, transport trucks and electronic jamming equipment.
At the same time, Carter also said that he plans to further export non-lethal ** to China through special cases.
During his visit to China, U.S. Secretary of Defense Gordon Brown publicly stated that the U.S.-China defense establishment should strengthen its engagement and stressed that U.S.-China cooperation can serve as a reminder to those that threaten the common interests of the United States and China.
In order to support China's military construction, the United States has taken a series of actions, such as trucks, communications equipment and early warning radars to China in January, six categories of auxiliary military equipment to China in March, and further relaxation of export controls to China in April, so that China can export transport aircraft and military equipment
In May 1983, the Chief of the General Staff of the People's Republic of China was invited by the United States to purchase equipment and conduct on-site inspections in the United States. Subsequently, China and the United States plan to further strengthen ties.
In July of the same year, the United States relaxed export controls on China. By September, the United States had exported 400 military technologies to China and even planned to supply China with surface-to-air missiles and jet aircraft.
And in 1983, U.S. export controls on China were even raised to the same level as NATO allies in Category V.
In the years that followed, the U.S. partnership with China reached unprecedented heights. The United States has transferred four categories of anti-tank, artillery, air defense, and surface-to-ship anti-submarine warfare technologies to China, provided advanced electronic equipment for fighter jets, and trained pilots for China at its own bases.
In addition, the United States has also exported Blue Eagle and Tao anti-tank missiles and improved Hawk anti-aircraft missiles to China. On the surface, the relationship between China and the United States has gone beyond allies and is more like hardcore allies.
In fact, the United States also very much hopes that the relationship between China and the United States can be further deepened, and promises that if a stronger alliance can be reached, it will provide more advanced equipment and technology.
Faced with such conditions, most countries around the world will not hesitate to accept them.
Surprisingly, China has resolutely rejected the U.S. solicitation. The reason is that China has come to realize that there is hypocrisy and calculation behind America's enthusiasm.
In fact, the shadow of cooperation has always been in the honeymoon period between China and the United States in the 80s, and that is the Taiwan issue. On this issue, which concerns China's core interests, the United States has adopted a counter-inferiority approach, claiming to recognize one China on the one hand, and interfering in China's internal affairs by passing the "Taiwan Relations Act" on the other.
Before and after the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, Reagan made a series of speeches that made people feel like they were going back to the past, which made China deeply wary. At the meeting with the US representative, he made it clear that although the Taiwan issue is difficult to solve, if the United States insists on fighting Taiwan, then China can only accept the reality and will not swallow the Bay issue in order to oppose the Soviet Union, as some people say.
However, the newly appointed Ronald Reagan insisted on sending new fighter jets to Taiwan, which directly triggered the first diplomatic crisis after the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. On this issue, China has always adhered to its position of resolute opposition.
** Clearly stated: "China is ready to set the U.S.-China relationship backwards," warning the U.S. that if it insists on arms sales to Taiwan, it may sever diplomatic relations between China and the United States.
China's firm attitude has made US Secretary of State Haig realize that the Chinese do what they say. He even threatened to resign in an attempt to persuade Reagan to abandon the arms sales plan. At the same time, people of insight in the United States also wrote an article warning Reagan not to take risks on this issue.
In addition, the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States has already benefited American farmers and cotton exporters, and the public does not want to see a regression in the relationship between China and the United States. Some people believe that if Sino-US relations return to the state quo ante before 1979, it will be a diplomatic disaster, and Reagan will be to blame.
In the midst of this opposition, Reagan finally chose to abandon the plan for the Taiwan ** fighter.
In 1982, under the impetus of Haig and Vice President Bush, China successfully signed the "August 17 Communique" with the United States. This communiqué clearly stipulates that the United States should reduce arms sales to Taiwan year by year, and finally stop selling arms to the Taiwan region after a period of time
It was a big diplomatic victory for China, which not only succeeded in blocking the arms sales, but also got the United States to recognize the decision. For Reagan, however, signing the communiqué was not his intention, and he only reluctantly agreed to it because of the insistence of Haig and Bush Sr.
Therefore, Reagan arbitrarily added a tail to the subsequent memo, that is, if the mainland's military power rises, the United States can help the Taiwan region to upgrade its armament.
This is actually a manifestation of the non-recognition of the United States. In the decades since, the United States has been exporting ** to Taiwan, and this is all because of the tail left by Reagan.
China is well aware of the intrinsic defense of the United States, and the Taiwan issue of the United States is like a spare pawn of the United States, which may be used as a means to deal with China at any time. If national sovereignty cannot be sincerely recognized, a military alliance between China and the United States will be even more out of reach.
There is a fundamental conflict between China's path and the American idea of the alliance. For China, strengthening its military power is important, but it must be based on independence and not control by other countries.
China's core aspiration is to build its national defense through self-reliance. However, NATO is dominated by the United States, and other countries are controlled by the United States. It is unacceptable to have China accept the U.S. military presence and bear the military spending, as it is easily reminiscent of China's colonial past.
Even during the period of closest military cooperation between China and the United States, China was mainly concerned with learning advanced production technology from the United States to independently develop first-class equipment and ensure the independence of the defense industry.
In the field of defense, China will ask the United States to buy urgently needed products that cannot be manufactured independently. However, there have always been limits to the extent to which the United States can support China, not only in terms of easing export restrictions, but also in the case-by-case review and case-by-case handling of technology transfers.
While China has reached the same status as NATO allies, it does not actually enjoy the same treatment, which prolongs China's access to the latest technology and raises the bar for transfer.
For example, in 1985, in order to modernize and upgrade the control system of the J-8 aircraft, China signed a contract with Graman on Long Island, New York, and spent $500 million.
However, in the 80s, China's foreign exchange reserves were only a few billion dollars, and by 1990 they barely reached $10 billion. Therefore, although the military technology of the United States is unique in the world, it is too expensive.
In the 80s, China was in the early stage of reform and opening up, and its main energy was still in domestic economic construction, and it was neither necessary nor worthwhile to carry out arms with the United States, and it was better to invest more financial resources in the construction of people's livelihood.
The reason for the final rejection is that China and the United States are essentially two countries with different natures, and there is an insurmountable gap in ideology. The United States has long had an impulse to promote its political system and values to the world, including, of course, China.
If China and the United States form an alliance, the United States will undoubtedly extend its hand in China's internal affairs for a longer time. For China, the policy of "non-alignment" is one of the diplomatic principles that it has adhered to since the founding of the People's Republic of China, which determines that China has always been an independent and impartial country.
China will not abandon its precious principles and depreciate itself to become a leader and thug of the United States because of its momentary interests.